ThinkMarkets Review

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ThinkMarkets is a regulated global online broker with great emphasis on client security. They incorporate top of the range online trading technologies with advanced trading platforms and tools to assist you with your daily trading activities. There is no minimum deposit required, whilst those of you who are beginners can improve your trading skills and knowledge with the provided educational resources. You can even open a demo trading account to practice trading online and see if you like what the broker has to offer. Furthermore, the broker has a range of trading instruments across various asset classes to choose from.

Summary

ThinkMarkets is an online trading broker providing clients in over 180 countries access to trade a wide range of trading instruments across multiple markets including Forex, Commodities, Cryptocurrency (excluding UK), Stocks, Shares, Indices, Metals, Energies & CFDs.

The broker was established in 2010 and is headquartered in London and Melbourne, with offices located all over the world including Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe and South America. Multilingual client support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They provide a variety of flexible trading accounts to suit different trader needs, including zero commission accounts as well as trading guides, trading tools, news and analysis.

Trading Conditions

They have a partnership with Equinix who are the world’s largest trading data centre with locations in London and Hong Kong that connect ThinkMarkets vast liquidity pool directly to your trading platforms. This high-end technology enables them to provide fast and reliable trade execution under all market conditions with the best possible prices and tightest spreads from just 0.1 pips. If you want spreads from 0.0 pips, you can take a look at XM Group as an alternative.

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Regulation

The broker operates in a transparent manner with emphasis on looking after client’s own interests and safety. They are regulated by some of the most strict and respected regulatory bodies including the FCA and ASIC. Eligible clients are also covered by the FSCS compensation scheme whilst client funds are held in segregated accounts. This regulation gives me confidence that they are a broker who I can trust and can therefore focus on my trading without being concerned that something will go wrong.

ThinkMarkets is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom and therefore must comply to strict regulatory requirements including providing regular financial reports and annual audits. They are also regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Seychelles, by the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission (CySEC) and Japan’s Financial Services Agency (JFSA).

Funds

The broker keeps client funds in segregated accounts with top-tier banks such as Barclays to ensure that they are not used for any other purposes such as operating costs. Whilst most brokers in the industry use a standard approach to protect clients, they take that extra step to ensure client safety. This helps to give clients additional peace of mind that they are using a trusted and reputable broker.

Countries

The broker accepts clients from over 180 countries, although they do not accept client from residents of the United States, Canada and some other countries or jurisdictions where there are legal and regulatory restrictions. If your country is not accepted, feel free to browse our broker reviews to find an alternative option.

Platforms

The broker has a good range of powerful and advanced trading platforms to meet the needs of different traders. Platforms are available for desktop, web and mobile. Mobile platforms are useful if you need to access your trading account on the go. I often find myself checking my trading apps to see how my trades are going and what is happening in the markets.

ThinkMarkets Platforms

MetaTrader 4 Platform

ThinkMarkets offer the hugely popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform that is well known throughout the industry for its user-friendly interface, quick learning curve and multiple built-in trading tools. Developed by MetaQuotes, MT4 has many features including technical indicators for chart analysis, trading strategy templates, fully customisable interface and charts, multiple time frames, automated trading solutions (expert advisors) and a large online community. It is available on desktop (Windows / Mac), web and mobile (iPhone / iPad / Android / Tablet).

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) Trading Platforms

MetaTrader 5 Platform

In addition to MT4, they also provide the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platform which is similar its predecessor although it has increased features and functionalities. The MT5 interface as a similar layout however it comes with many additional timeframes, services and advantages.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) Trading Platform

MetaTrader 4 vs MetaTrader 5

I personally still use MT4 because it was the first platform that I became accustomed to. However, I think both MetaTrader platforms are ideal for trading online. Let’s take a quick look at some of the main differences between the platforms to see if you can decide which you would prefer.

MetaTrader Time Frames

MT4 has 9-time frames while MT5 has 21-time frames which include 11 types of minute charts, 7 types of hourly charts and daily, weekly & yearly time frames, which allows room for more analysis of the market.

MetaTrader Pending Orders

MT4 offers 4 types of pending orders, whereas MT5 offers 6 types.

MQL4 & MQL5

• MQL4 – MetaQuotes Language 4 is a built-in language for programming trading strategies.
• MQL5 – MetaQuotes Language 5 is a high-level language designed for developing technical indicators, trading robots and utility applications.

MT4

• Allows only hedging
• Offers technical analysis tools which allow you to analyze markets of any complexity level – 30 built-in indicators and other 2000 free custom indicators and 700 paid
• No Market depth
• No Economic calendar

MT5

• Allows both hedging (by request) and Netting
• Offers 38 technical indicators, 44 analytical objects, 21 timeframes and an unlimited number of charts
• Provides Market depth
• Provides an economic calendar

MT4 vs MT5

ThinkTrader

ThinkMarkets also offer their own in-house developed award-winning ThinkTrader platform for desktop, web, mobile and tablet. ThinkTrader features include over 125 indicators, 50 drawing tools, 14 chart types and a 4-window split screen view to follow multiple markets consecutively. You get a generous 200 free cloud-based notifications (based on price action/indicators) and can analyse the markets for high probability trades using the TrendRisk Scanner which will also give stop loss and take profit price suggestions. There is also a real time news feed which I found very handy to keep up to date with the latest market news.

ThinkTrader Platforms

Data Centres

The broker has servers which are hosted with the robust infrastructure of Equinix who operate over 100+ data centres globally and host servers of more than 450+ financial exchanges, execution venues and banks. Clients trades placed through the MT4 platform are routed to counterparties within milliseconds with speed and reliability. In terms of execution, I would compare them to other top brokers such as FXPIG who also use Equinix servers.

Virtual Private Server (VPS)

I was pleased to see the broker has the option of a VPS running over a secured cloud computer system that gives you flexible 24-hour access to your account from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. A VPS can offer improved performance, helping to reduce trading latency and increase execution speeds. To qualify for a free VPS, clients must trade a minimum amount of lots per calendar month. You can get a free VPS from other brokers including Blueberry Markets.

Tools

The broker does have a selection of trading tools that can be used to assist with your trading and to keep up to date with the latest market news. I do feel that the provided platforms should have more than enough tools for most traders to conduct in-depth market analysis. However, if you like to have more tools at your disposal, you won’t be disappointed. I am especially happy to see the addition of Trading Central and Autochartist. I feel these are two of the best tools for automated market analysis.

Market News

ThinkMarkets have an in-house team of experts who deliver the latest market news, daily insights and analysis. They cover detailed technical and fundamental analysis across multiple markets and trading instruments. This can be a great way to help inspire trade ideas and keep you up to speed with what i going on in the markets.

Economic Calendar

The economic calendar is constantly updated so that you can track the latest economic news releases that affect the markets. News releases can be filtered by date, country, category and volatility impact. I always like to use a calendar to check what the latest news is before taking any decisions on my trades. It is not nice to get caught on the wrong side of a major news event.

FX Wire Pro

FXWirePro is one of the leading news agencies that delivers real-time market news from thousands of trading professionals around the globe. You can keep up to date with the latest economic analysis to see what is moving the markets with event alerts and potential impact.

Trading Central

ThinkMarkets offer Trading Central’s suite of tools for smarter trading. Trading Central are an industry leader in the provision of actionable trading ideas. Their product suite offers both human and automated interpretation of technical, fundamental and value-based analytics. These insights can help to empower today’s traders, assisting them with generating trade ideas, validating trading decisions and managing risk.

Trading Central

The technical strategies and professional data provided by Trading Central, covers Forex, precious metals, commodities, and indices from market renowned sources such as Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, and Dow Jones, as well as primary trading platforms.

• Long and short entry/exit signals
• 24H global coverage on market news
• Data delivered straight to your inbox
• Long-term forecasts on pivot levels
• Analyst view indicator for direction and key levels

Education

The broker has a good range of educational material suited towards traders of all experience levels. They can be accessed to help increase your trading knowledge and skills.

Trading Courses

There are 3 trading courses for beginner, intermediate and advanced traders covering all aspects of trading such as how to place trades, technical analysis and much more.

Trading Guides

There is a selection of trading guides for all levels of traders that can be downloaded and cover a variety of different topics from technical analysis to market psychology and more.

Trading Glossary

The website includes a glossary of trading terms and definitions to help you understand some of the most common trading terminology.

Webinars

You can sign up to live interactive webinars that are regularly run by in-house markets experts. These webinars can be a useful way to learn more about trading and to stay up to date with the most important trading topics. The ThinkMarkets YouTube channel hosts several of their most popular webinars which can be viewed at your convenience 24/7 without the need to sign-up or subscribe.

Markets

The broker has a generous selection of trading instruments from multiple markets including Forex, Commodities, Cryptocurrency (excluding UK), Stocks, Shares, Indices, Metals, Energies & CFDs. There should be enough instruments to satisfy most traders but they don’t quite compare to IG who have more than 17,000 for you to choose from.

Forex Trading

You can trade major, minor and exotic FX currency pairs with no minimum deposit on the standard account or a $500 minimum deposit on the ThinkZero account. Forex spreads start from just 0 pips on the ThinkZero account. As FX currency pairs are always moving, they present plenty of trading opportunities. When trading forex, you trade in anticipation of which direction one currency pair will move in relation to another.

Cryptocurrency Trading

The broker supports trading on some of the most popular Cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Their Crypto spreads are low with no contract expiration and the ability to go long or short. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and traders can speculate on if they believe their value will increase or decrease in relation to the currency of their choice. Cryptocurrency CFDs are not offered to retail traders in the UK.

Metals Trading

With a standard account, you can benefit from commission free trading on all precious metals including gold, silver & platinum. Metals are usually used for those who are interested in diversifying their trading portfolio and are quoted against the US Dollar at ThinkMarkets.

Shares Trading

You can get commission free trading on a great selection of 3500+ global shares and ETFs including some of the most popular such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook & Google. Share trading is popular for those who want to take a position on a specific company and sector. Profits are generated by buying a share at a low price and selling it at a higher one or by selling at a high price and buying at a lower one, if you think that the share of a company will decline.

Indices Trading

The broker enables you to take positions on global indices from just 0.4 points on ThinkTrader or tight variable spreads on MT4. An index is made up of a group of shares and is used to track the performance of a country’s economy, a market sector or an exchange. Some of the most traded indices include the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, FTSE, DAX, ASX200, NASDAQ, CAC, EuroStoxx and Nikkei 225.

Commodities Trading

You can diversify your portfolio by going long or short on a selection of commodities such as oil, gas & coffee, without any commission charged. Spreads on commodities start from as low as 0.4 points. Some commodities are traded in heavy volumes around the clock offering multiple opportunities to online traders.

Accounts

ThinkMarkets have a choice of trading accounts to suit different traders needs. There are 2 main accounts which are the standard account and ThinkZero account. The spreads are lowest on the ThinkZero account although there is a competitive commission charged, which only applies to FX and metals.

Standard Account

The standard account is the basic account offering that has spreads starting from 0.4 pips with an average FX spread of 1.2 pips. There is no minimum balance required and no commission charged. If you are not scalping or do not need lower spreads for your trading strategy, this account should suffice for most traders.

ThinkZero

The ThinkZero account has spread starting from just 0 pips with an average FX spread of 0.1 pips. The minimum balance required is $500 with a commission charge of $3.5 per side, which applies to FX and metals only. There is a free VPS offered to clients who trade at least 15 round lots per month. ThinkZero account holders also can trade in bigger volumes than Standard account holders. ThinkZero accounts come with the added benefit of a dedicated account manager.

Islamic Accounts

In addition to the main accounts, there is a joint account and an Islamic friendly swap free account that complies with Sharia law. This is great as it shows that the broker can cater for Muslim traders.

Demo Accounts

They also provide demo accounts if you would like to test the different trading platforms and conditions before opening and funding a real account. I would always recommend trying a broker with a demo account at first. This way you can see if they can meet your personal needs as every trader is different.

Support

Multilingual client support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via online chat, telephone or email. The friendly support team can be prompt and efficient at responding to general and technical questions.

Funding

I found the broker to have a decent selection of deposit and withdrawal methods including online payment processors which can be useful for quicker processing. Crypto wallet is also available for deposits and withdrawals, through which clients can make transactions using different cryptocurrencies.

The payment methods available may vary depending on your country of residence and although the broker do not charge fees for deposits, 3rd party/merchant fees may apply. Bank transfers may take a few business days to clear. For instant processing you can fund your account using a credit or debit card such as Visa or Mastercard.

Conclusion

Overall, ThinkMarkets is a well-established and regulated online broker that goes a long way to try and ensure that you can trade in a safe and secure environment. I like how they incorporate top of the range trading technologies and provide advanced trading platforms for seamless market access. You can choose from a couple of account types whilst they have a great range of trading tools for market analysis and educational materials to help beginners along their journey. I do think they could improve by adding some more trading instruments and funding options. Other than that, I wouldn’t have any issue using them for buying and selling various assets.

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ThinkMarkets is a regulated global online broker with great emphasis on client security. They incorporate top of the range trading technologies with advanced trading platforms and tools.

Between 71.89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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