CMC Markets Review

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Established in 1989, CMC Markets is a broker that offers you access to trade a great selection of over 10,000 financial instruments on sophisticated, versatile and easy to use trading platforms. You can get convenient access to the markets via your web, desktop and mobile devices. They also provide you with comprehensive market analysis, powerful trading tools and educational materials to help you learn more about the markets. CMC is headquartered in London, with hubs in Sydney and Singapore. The broker has a small minimum deposit requirement of just $1 whilst you can also request a free demo account if you want to give them a try before making a financial commitment. I think they can be a good choice of broker for anyone looking to trade online in a regulated environment with very competitive trading conditions and minimal fuss.

Summary

CMC Markets is a multiple award-winning broker providing trading products and services to a global client base. The broker lets you trade forex and CFDs on its cutting-edge trading platforms.

Founded in 1989 in the United Kingdom (UK), the broker is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with the ticker symbol CMCX. I like how they are regulated in multiple jurisdictions while also offering tight spreads and modern technology. CMC Markets has become a leading spread betting and CFD provider in the world today.

The broker offers a wide variety of tradable assets ranging from forex currency pairs, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, treasuries, metals, energies, CFDs and stock shares. I like how these instruments are traded on modern platforms with a variety of essential and advanced tools to assist you in your daily trading routine.

Trading Conditions

CMC Markets asserts that it is the sole execution venue for all its clients’ orders. The broker also affirms that it does not operate an order book where clients’ orders could provide or take liquidity. All orders are executed at the best rates available and at optimum speeds. This method of execution makes the broker a ‘market maker’, which does not connect a trader to a liquidity pool provider. Spreads can therefore be marked-up as they are not coming from an aggregated liquidity pool. If you are looking for an ECN broker, IC Markets are my top choice.

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Regulation

When choosing a broker, regulation is one of the most important things to look out for. I am therefore pleased to say that CMC Markets is regulated by several authorities globally, including what I would consider to be top-tier regulators. This gives me peace of mind that they can be trusted and will always operate in an open and transparent manner.

• CMC Markets is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom (UK). This license controls the UK and Europeans operations through its MiFID passports.
• CMC Markets is authorised and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
• CMC Markets’ New Zealand operation is licensed by the New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA)
• CMC Markets in Singapore is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
• In Canada, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organisation of Canada (IIROC) regulates the brokerage activities of CMC Markets. They are one of a few brokers that accept traders in Canada along with Forex.com

Funds

Clients’ deposits are maintained in different segregated bank accounts. These funds are kept in top European banks such as NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds, Ulster Bank in Ireland, Deutsche Bank in Germany and Barclays in France.

CMC Markets accounts records are regularly crosschecked by internal auditors. Every year, ‘PricewaterhouseCoopers’ audits the records and the reports are sent to the regulatory authorities.

CMC Markets UK and European clients are insured by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The scheme can compensate eligible clients if the broker becomes insolvent. The Canadian clients are insured for up to one million Canadian Dollars by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). The MAS regulated jurisdictions are entitled to an additional insurance.

Security

The broker protects its trading platforms and websites with Secured Socket Layer (SSL) encryptions to ensure adequate user protection from identity thieves and cyber hackers.

Countries

CMC Markets does not accept residents of the United States, Belgium and a few other countries. If your country is not accepted, you can find alternatives with our broker comparison tool.

Platforms

CMC Markets offers its own proprietary platforms as well as the MT4 platform to you for trading online. Both platforms are easy to use and will let you do everything from analysing the charts to placing and managing your trades with relative ease.

They don’t have a dedicated social trading platform or the MT5 platform, but this is not a deal breaker for me personally. I actually prefer MT4 and find it to be the best trading platform for my trading style. For a social trading platform, you can check out eToro. Similarly, Pepperstone offer trading on the MT5 platform if you need it.

The platforms are as follows:

Next Generation Trading Platform

This is the award winning proprietary platform from CMC Markets. It is web based and thus, does not require any downloads or installations. It is also available on mobile devices. I like how it runs directly in most modern web browsers. The Next Generation platform is designed with multiple windows and layouts. I like this platform as it is loaded with analytical tools, complex charting package, advanced order management, news, etc.

Here are some of the platforms key features:

• 12 different types of charts including OHLC, Kagi, Renko charts, etc
• Over 115 technical indicators
• Fully customisable layouts, charts and indicators
• Trade from the charts
• Loaded with tools such as pattern recognition, client sentiment, module linking, etc
• News from Reuters is streamed on the platform

Next Generation Trading Platform

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) Trading Platform

Developed by trading software company MetaQuotes and used by millions of traders worldwide, MT4 is a well known platform for trading forex and CFDs. Through CMC Markets, I got access to trade thousands of instruments on the MT4 trading platform. MT4 can be downloaded from the CMC Markets website and installed on a Windows PC. The mobile versions are available and can be installed on iOS or Android devices.

Here are some key features of the MT4 platform:

• Available in over 20 languages
• Multiple chart types and timeframes
• Wide range of analysis tools including technical indicators and drawing tools
• Automated trading using Expert Advisors (EAs)
• MetaEditor for creating custom indicators and EAs
• Access to the MetaTrader market where signals, custom indicators, EAs and other tools can be purchased or acquired at no cost
• Multiple order types including risk management tools
• Monitoring features including live quotes, account monitoring, trade monitoring as well as trade history, etc
• Alert notifications via the platform, SMS and email
• Trading on the go using MT4 android app or MT4 iOS app

MT4 Trading Platform

CMC CFD Trading App

This is CMC Markets’ proprietary trading app which is a mobile version of the ‘Next Generation’ trading platform. It is developed for iOS and Android devices. It can be downloaded from the relevant app stores. With the mobile app, I can trade thousands of instruments in real time whilst on the go from anywhere in the world.

Here are some of the features of the app:

• Customisable watchlist that can be used to view the instrument details and arrange them according to the trader’s interests.
• Over 30 technical indicators, multiple charts and drawing tools.
• Insights tool presents analysis from CMC Markets analysts.
• Live economic calendar with alerts on the app.
• Alert push notifications
• For every instrument, the sentiment analysis charts are available on the app.

CMC Markets CFD Trading App

Tools

Pattern Recognition & Price Projection

The pattern recognition is a tool inbuilt into the Next Generation trading platform. It scans the charts and recognises technical patterns such as triangles and wedges, etc. When the patterns are complete, it creates a price projection box highlighting where the price action may likely go. I haven’t seen many brokers offering this tool and it’s quite useful.

Module Linking

This tool enables the grouping of charts together for the sake of comparison. I found this tool useful for examining the same assets over multiple charts, timeframes, indicators, etc at the same time.

CMC Markets Module Linking

Chart Forum Community

This is where traders can discuss strategies, exchange ideas and share chart analysis. It is part of the Next Generation trading platform. I like how you can copy analysis, save and comment on posts.

CMC Markets Forum

Client Sentiment

This tool shows me the percentage of traders that have bought a particular instrument as well as the percentage that have sold the same instrument.

CMC Markets Client Sentiment

Market Calendar

This shows the dates and times scheduled for different global events as well as their predicted impact on the market. This calendar is powered by Reuters and it is streamed on the Next Generation platform. This is one of my favourite tools for anticipating future market conditions.

CMC TV

This is produced and presented daily by CMC Markets experts. They give market insights and useful technical analysis on selected assets.

Market Insights

This consists of daily commentaries and video analysis as presented by CMC Markets analysts. It is accessible via the trading platform.  I use this tool to understand how to proceed based on the analysis and price movements surrounding the assets.

News & Analysis

The topics covered are Market commentary, chart analysis, weekly outlook, technical and fundamental analysis. This is prepared and presented by the team of analysts at CMC Markets.

Education

The CMC Markets website has a dedicated learning section where a selection of comprehensive trader education is provided. I would’ve preferred if they had a bigger selection of educational resources. For that, you may check out Admirals. I found the support page to have a glossary of approximately 220 financial markets terms along with detailed definitions. It also has top Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) grouped accordingly.

Trading Videos

There are several training videos covering a variety of trading topics including fundamental analysis, technical indicators, forex and CFD trading, spread betting, etc. I like how these videos are grouped for beginners, intermediate and advanced traders.

Trading Guides

There are trading guides, lessons on forex, CFD and cryptocurrency trading. Also, there are articles explaining the basic concepts of trading for those who are new to it.

Trading Webinars

Webinars are scheduled on the CMC Market website from time to time, usually at least twice per month.

Markets

CMC Markets has an excellent selection of over 10,000 tradable assets available for trading on its platforms. This really is an impressive selection and up there with the very best brokers. For comparison, industry leaders IG have around 17,000 and FP Markets have a great selection of over 10,000 instruments respectively.

• 300+ forex pairs including major, minor & exotic currency pairs
• 60+ indices
• 9,000+ share CFDs
• 90+ commodities
• 15+ cryptocurrencies
• 30+ treasuries

Accounts

CMC accounts are based on the trading platform and the assets available for trading. I found the spreads to be generally competitive on most assets. The spread on the popular EURUSD FX currency pair starts from 0.7 pips while commission on shares starts from 0.1%. Whilst many other brokers such as those who run an ECN model will tend to have spreads starting from 0 pips, I like how CMC do not charge a commission as the cost is included within the spread. The following are the account types that you can choose from:

Spread Bet Account

This is exclusively for residents of the UK and Ireland. It is a way of trading the markets by speculating on price movements of the assets. The spreads start from 0.3 pips and there is a maximum leverage of 1:30. There is no minimum deposit and over 9,000 instruments are available for spread betting. I would be better if they offered this account type for more regions but spread betting is not always allowed due to regulators.

MT4 Account

This account is only for the MT4 platform. It gives access to over 50 tradable assets including forex, indices and commodities. If you’re looking for a broker that offers more assets for trading on the MT4 platform, you may want to check out TMGM. No commissions are charged as the broker fees are already embedded in the spread.

CFD Account

This account is for the ‘Next Generation’ trading platform. It gave me access to trade all the 10,000+ trading instruments available. Commissions are charged on shares.

Demo Accounts

Demo accounts are available on all platforms. A virtual balance of $10,000 is preloaded into the demo account. This helped me get familiar with the platforms, practice trading strategies and test the brokers service.

Support

The customer desk is available 24hrs a day from 9pm Sunday to 10pm Friday. The available communication channels are telephone, email and instant web chat. If you generally only get time to talk to customer support on weekends, EXANTE might be a better broker option for you. The broker is also available on social media; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Funding

CMC Markets states that it is not permitted to accept cash deposits. It also cannot receive or make payments to third parties. So, all payments must be in the account holder’s name. I appreciate these precautions as it prevents any fraudulent activity. The different regions of CMC’s operation have their own payment methods suitable for the local clients.

Generally, CMC Markets does not always charge deposit and withdrawal fees. But, in most cases, I found the transaction fees charged by the payment processors are transferred to the clients. Bank transfers may take a few business days to clear whilst some methods can be instant. I prefer the digital payment options as it gives me quicker access to my funds.

Some payment systems may have transaction limits, restrictions, and requirements which are indicated on their respective websites. I recommend verifying your account as this may remove limits on particular methods in some countries.

CMC Markets does not accept crypto as a method of account funding. I think this may cost them a few clients since crypto is becoming increasingly popular every day. If you prefer a broker that offers crypto funding, you might want to check out Hugo’s Way.

Accounts can be opened in USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, NOK, SEK. The different currency options are beneficial as currency conversion fees do not apply when using an account in your own currency.

Here are some of the globally accepted funding options:

Wire Transfer

You can make a deposit from your bank account to CMC Markets’ bank accounts directly. Withdrawals are also made via this method. It takes 3-7 working days depending on the banks.

Credit/Debit Cards

CMC Markets does not accept AMEX and Diner card. Only 3D secure cards are accepted. Card payments are promptly transferred to the trader’s account, usually within a few hours.

Online Payments

E-payment solutions like Poli, PayPal and Bpay are accepted by some regions like Australia. I like the convenience of these transactions being processed instantly.

Conclusion

CMC Markets is a well-established online broker that has stood the test of time and continues to adopt the latest trade technologies. I like the fact the broker holds multiple regulations from different authorities and carefully abides by the stringent regulatory provisions. This makes me feel that my funds will be safe and means that I can focus on my trading.

You will find an impressive asset listing of over 10,000+ instruments. They can cater to individuals, corporate and international traders. I appreciate how there is no minimum deposit, meaning that anyone is welcome irrespective of trading capital or experience. You can start trading with a small amount or even on a demo account which is usually better if you are a beginner.

The spreads are slightly high when compared to other brokers but you can choose to trade on a commission free account if you prefer.

The CMC proprietary Next Generation trading platform has a myriad of innovative tools that aim to simplify the job of the trader. My favorites are the sentiment analysis, social forum, news from Reuters as well as analysts’ insights as they are all great additions that make the platform a good choice for different styles and expertise of traders.

They also provide you with a comprehensive range of training videos and other educational resources on the website and platforms. All of this puts them up with there with the best trading brokers in my opinion.

$1

Established in 1989, CMC Markets offers a great selection of over 10,000 trading instruments on sophisticated and versatile trading platforms. They also provide comprehensive analysis, trading tools and educational materials.

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

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