ATC Brokers Review

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ATC Brokers is a regulated brokerage firm that gives you easy market access to trade forex and CFDs via the robust and intuitive MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platforms. They have very competitive trading conditions including tight spreads, low commission fees and rapid trade execution speeds. There is a good variety of trading instruments for you to choose from. You can analyse the markets in great detail with a vast array of professional trading tools to help you get the best out of your trading. There are some basic educational guides for beginners but perhaps they are quite limited in this respect. That being said, you could always open a free demo account to practice your trading skills and see what the broker has to offer without making any financial commitment. Otherwise, the minimum deposit of $2,000 is quite high when compared to many other brokers that I have reviewed in the past who let you get started from just $1. Regardless, I think they have the right technology and infrastructure in place to cater for the average retail trader and professional institutions respectively.

Summary

ATC Brokers is a unique online brokerage with a unique vision, providing online forex and CFD trading services to retail and institutional clients. The broker was founded in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2005 but does offer its financial services to investors in other countries. They have been in operating for over a decade and are respected among traders for the efficient true ECN services that they provide. The broker has solid financial partnerships with top tier banks, which provide for an assurance of integrity in the banking spectrum. They believe that the foreign exchange market should be transparent and unbiased for all market participants and with that vision, they established a pure agency model to provide clients with services that are free of manipulation.

Trading Conditions

ATC Brokers affirm that they operate a 100% agency model and never take a position against you or manipulate trading activities to its favour. All of your orders are forwarded to the liquidity providers (LPs) where they are executed at the best possible spreads with minimal slippage. I prefer this to the dealing desk model where the broker can take the opposite side of your trade. This can lead to a conflict of interest. With this broker you can be sure that your orders are sent directly through to the markets.

ATC Brokers also provide a scalable back office and the MetaTrader Pro platform which adds new features to the traditional MetaTrader platform. I like how the broker also provides an Application Interface (API) as it enables you to connect your strategies directly to the execution venue via FIX API. The modern technology incorporated helps to ensure swift execution speeds, tight spreads as well as catering to multiple trading styles and strategies.

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Regulation

One of the first things I look for in a broker is the regulation. I would always prefer to use a regulated broker as they must operate in an honest and transparent manner in order to comply with regulators. I am therefore pleased to see that ATC Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA regulates the financial services industry in the UK. They aim to protect consumers, ensure the industry remains stable and promote healthy competition between financial service providers. I would consider this to be top-tier regulation and thus I wouldn’t personally have any issue entrusting them for my daily trading activities.

Funds

In compliance with the regulatory stipulations, ATC Brokers keeps your deposits in segregated bank accounts. The bank accounts are maintained in ‘Barclays Bank Plc’ which is a top-rated British Bank with over 300 years of experience and operations in 50 countries. This means that the broker should not use your deposits for its daily operations. I like how the funds are held in such a way that if the broker goes bankrupt, your funds should be returned to you.

ATC Brokers is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). I like this scheme as it can give eligible clients some extra protection. If the broker fails, you could receive compensation. However, I recommend going through the terms and conditions as they’re pretty specific on who is eligible for this compensation.

Before every account is opened, the broker will take time to verify each client using ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) procedures. The documents allowed include a ‘photo identity’ and a recent ‘utility bill’. I like this security feature as it helps to prevent any fraudulent activity.

Countries

The broker can accept clients from all over the globe, excluding some countries from the OFAC list and in other jurisdictions where there are strict limitations in place. If your country is not accepted for any reason, you could check out our broker comparison tool for alternatives.

Platforms

MetaTrader 4 Platform

ATC Brokers provide you with the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform. MT4 is one of the most widely used trading platforms among CFD brokers and traders. It has been around since 2005 and is accepted because of its simple interface, myriad of tools and especially its ability to support custom apps which further increases its capabilities. I like how there are already many indicators, signal services and reporting tools built into MT4. Numerous Expert Advisors (EAs) are available for automated trading on the MT4 platform. This is one of the reasons why the platform remains so popular and is still widely used by millions of investors around the world, even though it has a successor (MT5). I have used it for many years and love the automated trading capabilities that it has. There are more than enough tools to create trading templates for your charts as simplistic or complicated as you need them to be.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) Platforms

The ATC Brokers MT4 platform can be downloaded for desktop, run directly in your web browser and be accessed through the modern trading app. I use the desktop platform for running automated systems and the mobile app for checking my trades and the latest market news whilst out and about. If you are a beginner, then I think this platform can be a great place to start. It is also worth noting that the platform is available through many other brokers which could make it easier to switch down the line.

Here are some of its salient features:

• Intuitive application interface featuring live quotes, order management and analysis tools
• Access to the MetaTrader market for purchase of EAs, indicators, signals and other enhancement apps
• Every tradable asset can be displayed on 3 chart styles which are plotted against 9 timeframes ranging from one minute (M1) to one month (MN)
• 30+ technical indicators come with MT4. These include the popular ones like moving average, Bollinger bands, MACD, etc
• Graphical objects for marking key price levels such as support and resistance
• It has one-click trading and order placement features including pending orders and risk management tools like stop loss and take profit
• Automated trading with expert advisors and a strategy tester to test them on historical data
• Alert notifications via the platform, SMS and email

MT4 Mobile Apps

The MT4 trading platform is mobile friendly as it has dedicated mobile apps built for iOS and Android devices. These apps can be downloaded and installed from the respective app stores. I really like the app as its interface is simple, intuitive, customisable and loaded with most of the features found on the desktop version of MT4. Trading on the go is made easy with everything you need to follow the marker prices and manage your positions.

MT4 Trading App

Here are some of the MT4 app features that I find most useful:

• Integrates with the desktop version accounts. You can place a trade on the computer and monitor or modify it via the app
• The app shows live quotes of all tradable assets. The quotes can be customised to display only the trader’s favourite assets
• Live Charts on 9 timeframes from one minute (M1) to one month (MN)
• 30+ inbuilt technical indicators as well analytical tools
• Complete order features include market execution and 4 pending order types
• Account balance displays in real time, order history is also available
• Stop loss and take profits are available for limiting risks
• Get price alert notifications anywhere at anytime

Tools

I think most of you will find there to be more than enough tools already included in the MT4 platform but the broker does provide some additional standalone tools that can help to boost your trading experience. You can also download lots of add-ons for the platform from the MQL marketplace. There are plenty of indicators, expert advisors, scripts and more. If you have the coding skills, you could even use the platforms editor to develop your own tools. If you are not that technical, the MQL community has a freelance section that could build your own custom tools for you.

Market News

Market news is updated on the website every day. I like how it focuses on economic activities, currency pairs and other assets along with recent price action. I also appreciate how the news section is updated frequently; sometimes up to 20 times per day. This means you can keep track of the latest market movements which can help with your trade decisions.

Economic Calendar

This calendar shows the time and dates of upcoming economic events from all over the world. The calendar also shows analysts’ consensus on the event’s likely impact on selected assets. It is compared to the history and you can make trading decisions based on the analysis that follows. I find this to be a vital tool that I like to combine with my technical and price action analysis.

PAMM & PAMM Plus (PAMM+) Softwares

These softwares are used by fund managers to trade different investor accounts from one master account. I like how one single order trades all the accounts. Investors even have access to the back office where they can access the trading reports. PAMM runs multiple investor accounts that have the same currency while PAMM+ runs accounts created with different base currencies. You should know that PAMM+ has greater flexibility than the PAMM management software. Both softwares run on the MT4 or FIX API. The managers receive compensation fees automatically.

VPS

ATC Brokers has partnered with Beeks Financial Cloud to provide clients with powerful Virtual Private Server (VPS) solutions. They offer you up to 8% discount on any VPS subscription. This amounts to prices starting from around £27 per month. Beeks is a British low latency VPS provider that serves the financial markets. A VPS is normally demanded by traders who use automated trading systems that require constant and reliable connectivity. I really like a VPS as it allows you to run your trading platform 24/7 without needing your computer switched on. I find it to be an invaluable tool for running my automated systems so that I can test performance on multiple brokers simultaneously.

MetaTrader Pro

This is an MT4 plugin app that adds more reporting functions to the MT4 platform. I like how ATC Brokers have taken that extra step to bring the already excellent MT4 platform up to the next level. This is something that I haven’t seen many other brokers do. It can be a great way for you to get an overview of your performance and help you identify areas in which you have succeeded and where you could improve.

MT Pro

The MT Pro software obtains the trading data from your account and provides a variety of report types. The list below is a sample of what can be viewed from the data collected.

• Profit and Loss: shows the account balance versus time
• Winners/Losers: This shows the amount of winning and losing trades over a given time
• Performance: It shows the percentage of profits and losses
• Time Analysis: It shows the trade durations and frequency assessment

Education

The ‘Learn Centre’ of the website consists of several training materials. I like how there is a selection of brief yet clear articles on forex, CFDs, day trading, demo accounts, ECN brokers and trading using the MT4 platform. They are clear and to the point but I think there isn’t enough if you are an absolute beginner. If that is the case, you might want to consider FXTM as an alternative option as they have lots of educational content.

Markets

On the MT4 platform, ATC brokers offer 38 currency pairs, 9 CFDs and 2 metals for trading. I find this instrument offering to be very small compared to other brokers like Freedom24 which offer thousands of trading instruments on their platforms, including individual stocks. You might be satisfied if you are primarily looking to trade forex, but I think they could add some more instruments to cover a broader range of markets. if you want to trade stocks, you will need to look elsewhere. Cryptocurrencies are available only to Professional categorised clients but not available for trading during the weekend.

Accounts

There are only three types of live accounts available for you to choose from. The retail accounts are not separated into smaller sub units as they are with many brokers. Commissions of $6 round turn per lot is charged which is actually quite cheap. It is quite common to see brokers who charge $7 or more. The average spread for the EURUSD currency pair is 0.3 pips. These aren’t the lowest spreads that I have come across. Plenty of brokers have accounts with spreads starting from 0.0 pips. However, once you combine the spread with the competitive commission fee, the overall costs are very reasonable. If you aren’t scalping or trading large volumes, the difference will probably be negligible in any case.

For all accounts, the minimum opening balance is $2,000 for global clients but for UK and European clients, the minimum is £5,000/$,5000/€5,000. This is quite high compared to brokers such as Valutrades who have a $1 minimum deposit requirement and similar trading conditions. That being said, I think the larger minimum deposit is due to the broker catering more towards the crowd of experienced traders. Although, they do provide free demo accounts if you want to get a feel for what they have do offer before opening a real account.

The maximum leverage is 1:200 but for the European clients, it is 1:30 in compliance with ESMA limitations (unless you qualify as a professional trader). If you prefer to trade with a broker that offers higher leverage, you could check out Traders Way. Whilst some traders actively seek out higher leverage, please be aware of the risks involves when trading with leveraged positions. Whilst they can amplify potential profits, they also increase the potential loss.

The following account types are available:

• Individual Account
• Joint Account
• Corporate Account

Support

ATC Brokers has a help centre on the website. I like this section as it has FAQs which attempt to answer important questions and give prospective clients an insight into the services available. A contact form is available for those of you who need further assistance. The support team will respond to the request usually by email. The help desk works 24/5 and can also be reached via phone, email and instant web chat. I would’ve liked to see them available on weekends as well like other top brokers such as Plus500.

Funding

There is a decent selection of funding options for deposits and withdrawals. I especially like the availability of cards and digital wallets as I find these to be much quicker than bank transfer. If there is some market news that I want to try and take advantage of, I wouldn’t want to wait around days for a bank transfer to clear. I do think they could improve by adding support for crypto funding like Hugo’s Way do.

• Bank Wire transfers: ATC brokers do not charge a deposit fee for transfers. However, an international withdrawal fee is $40, €30 or £25 is charged depending on the account currency. This fee is high when compared to other brokers.
• Credit/Debit Cards: All major global cards are accepted. This includes Visa card, Mastercard and China UnionPay cards. 2.9% is generally charged as deposit fees while card withdrawals are free of charge.
• Skrill payment: This is an e-wallet payment that can be used to fund or withdraw from ATC brokers trading accounts. The deposit fees charged is 2.9% while a withdrawal fee of 1% is charged on Skrill transactions.

Conclusion

ATC Brokers is an online forex and CFD broker that serves clients across the globe. It is a regulated brand that must comply with the directives of the regulatory agencies. I like that the broker offers ECN technology for trading as it helps to ensure tight spreads and swift execution speeds. The MT4 platform is the most popular platform adopted by brokers including ATC Brokers. The FIX API solution provided will also be of help to clients that need it, especially programmers, high frequency traders (HFT) and scalpers.

Only around 50 trading instruments are offered which is very small compared to other brokers like Swissquote and they don’t have any individual stocks to trade. The funding options are also limited; no PayPal, Neteller and other popular online payment gateways like what’s offered at PaxForex. A minimum trading capital of $2,000 is much larger compared to other brokers like Trade Nation which give access to live trading with only $5 or less. I found the learning centre to also be limited with no training videos or comprehensive training package specifically designated for beginners, intermediate and professional level traders.

In summary, ATC Brokers is an established & regulated broker, but I believe this particular brokerage firm could improve its services in order to effectively compete with some of the other top-rated brokers. If you find that this broker does not meet your trading needs, I recommend checking out our the best trading brokers for some possible alternatives.

$2,000

ATC Brokers is a regulated online brokerage offering forex and CFD trading via the MT4 platform to traders across the globe. They have a competitive offering but there is room for improvement in some areas.

Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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