Avatrade
AvaTrade was originally founded in Dublin, Ireland as AvaFX in 2006. It has since expanded globally with offices in major cities around the world to include Milan, Nigeria, Paris, Shanghai, South Africa, Sydney, Tokyo and Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. It now serves over 200,000 client accounts, with monthly volume exceeding an average of 2 million transactions. AvaTrade was one of the first forex brokers to introduce CFD trading on commodities, indices and stocks. It also lead the way in introducing cryptocurrency trading.
AvaTrade operates under the oversight of several reputable regulatory bodies including the Central Bank of Ireland (Reference No: C53877), the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Financial Services Commission (British Virgin Islands), the Financial Services Agency of Japan, the Financial Futures Association of Japan, and the Commodities Futures Association of Japan.
Markets Offered
AvaTrade offers its clients 250+ instruments to trade including forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs on commodities, equities, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), bonds, and market indices. Below is a list of instruments available for trading at AvaTrade.
Tradable Instruments
| Asset class | Number of instruments | Spreads from | Margins from | Leverage Upto |
| Forex | 50+ | 1.3 pips | 25% | 400:1 |
| Indices | 19+ | .1 over mkt. | .5% | 200:1 |
| Commodities | 17+ | .03 pts | 1% | 200:1 |
| Stock CFDs | 100+ | .13 | 5% | 20:1 |
| ETF CFDs | 5+ | .13% | .05% | 20:1 |
| Bonds | 5+ | .03 over mkt. | 5% | 20:1 |
| Options | 42+ | 7.5 pips | 1% | 100:1 |
| Cryptocurrencies | 10 | .01% over mkt. | 4% | 25:1 |
Account Types
AvaTrade offers its retail clients a standard trading account. For its professional traders that manage several trading accounts for their clients, it offers a Multi-Account Manager (MAM) account. Below is a list of details and features for the two types of accounts.
| Account Type | Standard | MAM |
| Scalping | Yes | Yes |
| Hedging | Yes | Yes |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Micro account | Yes | Yes |
| Standard account | Yes | No |
| Zero spread account | No | No |
| VIP account | No | Yes |
| Managed account | Yes | No |
| Islamic account | Yes | Yes |
| Min trade | 0.01 lot | 0.01 lot |
| Max trade | 100 lots | 100 lots |
| Min deposit | $100 | $100 |
| Neg. Balance Protection | Yes | Yes |
| Automated Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Account Setup | Free | Free |
| Multiple Accounts | No | Yes |
| Ability to create multiple sub trading groups | No | Yes |
| Multiple allocation parameters | No | Yes |
| Order placements for unlimited client accounts | No | Yes |
| Trade order placements from a master account | No | Yes |
Avatrade charges its client for holding trades beyond the close of a trading day into the next day. These costs vary depending on the instrument and the type of position (i.e. long or short) being held overnight, and in some cases may result in a credit instead of a charge. There are inactivity fees after 1 year of inactivity in an account, and account withdrawals above $100 are free. All retail Client Money is held in segregated client bank accounts, and Islamic accounts are available. There is a required minimum account balance of $100.
Funding an account can be accomplished via bank transfer, e-wallets, or credit card including MasterCard, Visa, Neteller, and Skrill. Cards and bank transfer payments are free of charge. E-Wallets like Neteller and Skrill charge a transaction fee charge. The minimum deposit is $100 dollars and varies depending on the currency used. Avatrade processes deposits within 1 to 10 days depending on the type of deposit. Withdrawals are typically processed and sent within 1 to 2 business days. Once the withdrawal is processed, it may take up to 10 business days depending on the method of payment used.
Opening an account is usually completed within 1 to 3-business days. Documents required are a valid ID (i.e. passport, driver’s license, or national ID), and proof of address (i.e. bank statement, utility bill, or tax invoice dated within the last three months and issued to your name and address). Avatrade does not accept clients from the following countries: USA, Belgium, and Cuba.
Web & Desktop Trading Platforms
AvaTrade offers its clients multiple trading platform to trade with including their proprietary platform AvaTradeGo and MetaTrader4 (MT4). AvaTradeGO is a very straight forward easy to use trading platform which traders can trade on the web, or on a mobile device. The platform allows traders to follow market trends, monitor social trends from the AvaTrade vibrant trader’s community. To help traders make better and more accurate decisions all trading instruments are connected to show insights, and what other traders are buying & selling, trading behaviour, and visuals with up-to-date info. Traders can see their trades at a glance, create their own watch lists, and view live prices and charts. Trade more than 250 instruments including the world’s top forex pairs, commodities, stocks, cryptocurrencies and more.
MT4 is a very widely used platform by the forex trading community. It has features and trading tools that accommodate every level of traders from a beginner that is learning the basics, to advanced traders that programs, back-tests, and implements sophisticated algorithmic trading systems. MT4 includes 80+ indicators, nine time-frames, 3 chart layouts, mobile trading, and 37 language options. It also allows for the use of expert advisors for automated strategies, and its MQL4 programming language allow advanced traders to program their own custom strategies.
AvaTrade MetaTrader4 (MT4) Screen Shot
Traders can also choose from a variety of automated trading platforms that allow traders to copy or mirror the trades made by their more experienced traders, and take advantage of trading signal services and social media trading communities.
| Platform Feature | MT4 | AvaTradeGO |
| Stop loss Orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| One-click trading | Yes | Yes |
| Trailing stops | Yes | Yes |
| Expert advisors (EAs) | Yes | No |
| Virtual private server | No | No |
| Direct market access | Yes | Yes |
| STP broker | Yes | Yes |
| ECN broker | No | No |
| Market maker | Yes | Yes |
| Price alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Signal trading | Yes | No |
| Watchlists | Yes | Yes |
| Charting tools | Yes | Yes |
| iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Windows App | Yes | Yes |
Education
AvaTrade has an extensive educational section on its website available to the public. More advanced educational materials — including exclusive articles, free videos, e-books, as well as daily market analysis — are also available to help you improve your trading skills and learn new concepts.
You can find articles covering various trading topics on AvaTrade’s website, including basic market terms and cryptocurrencies. Educational articles on the AvaTrade are categorized into three levels of expertise: beginner, intermediate and advanced. You can easily use the sorting function to find articles corresponding to your skill level as a trader.
AvaTrade’s education center also accommodates traders who learn better using audiovisual materials. Among the materials are the basics of trading and detailed tutorial of the broker’s apps. For convenience’s sake, the videos are embedded in the website. AvaTrade also has a YouTube channel that is regularly updated.
AvaTrade conducts a series of webinars in several languages as well. The webinars are geared to all levels of traders – from beginner to expert. AvaTrade’s Education web page offers a Webinar menu, but it does not show you a complete list of webinars offered by the broker (if at all). When searching a particular topic, you may see a notice saying, “Sorry, no posts matched your criteria” instead. To get around this, you can access the broker’s YouTube channel directly.
The broker offers a free eBook that contains a comprehensive guide for traders. However, you need to register an account on AvaTrade’s website to download its full version.
Customer Service
AvaTrade’s award-winning support team is available by phone, email and live chat. It provides its clients with customer service representatives that are available 24/5 in 14 languages, ready to assist with any trading issue. For traders that make a first deposit of $1,000 or more, a dedicated Account Manager is assigned to guide them through their first trades, and teach them how to use our trading platforms and inform them on all market matters. The customer support online is available in several international languages including Arabic, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.
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Safety
Is AvaTrade safe?
There are several measures that AvaTrade has taken to offer a safe and secure trading experience to its consumers. You will be assigned a dedicated Account Manager to help with asset management after placing the first deposit of $1,000. The Account Manager assists customers in account management.
AvaTrade is licensed to operate in several regions, namely the European Union (Ireland, Poland and Cyprus), Australia, the British Virgin Islands, Japan, the Middle East and South Africa. Working together with a licensed broker offers various forms of protection to customers.
You will receive insolvency protection from authorities providing licenses to the broker. This means that you can receive your funds back if the broker is insolvent. Australian Securities & Investment Commission, Avatrade’s licensor in Australia, for instance, accommodates every investor of an insolvent licensed broker to claim a chargeback or redeem deposits.
AvaTrade offers its customers the ease of online trading, a convenient practice that also possesses cybersecurity risks. As a licensed trader, the broker’s cybersecurity will be monitored constantly by its licensors to ensure that no security breach can compromise customers’ data.
Laws related to financial services are updated from time to time. You need to be aware of the latest regulations that apply to your region. As a licensed trader in several regions, AvaTrade can also provide education on the newest laws related to financial market products. You can also visit the websites of AvaTrade’s licensors to learn more about the latest laws.
Another safety benefit you can get from trading with a licensed broker like AvaTrade is customer advocacy. Because authorities of certain regions regulate the broker, customers within those regions can report brokers if there are alleged unlawful practices. These authorities will help customers solve the issues.
FAQs
What is a CFD (contract for difference)?
CFD is a type of financial derivative product offered by AvaTrade, which enables investors to perform trades on price changes of different assets. CFD is profitable if the trader manages to predict the price direction correctly. In this case, the broker will pay the price discrepancy. On the other hand, a wrong prediction causes you to have to pay the broker the price discrepancy.
Trading on CFDs enables investors to trade on rising and falling markets with varying strategies, trade without exchange fees and obtain hedging potentials. However, CFDs can be volatile and offer leverage risks.
AvaTrade offers several CFDs, including stocks, currency pairs, commodities, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), cryptocurrencies, bonds and indices.
What does AvaProtect™ do?
AvaProtect™ is a risk management tool offered by AvaTrade to protect investors’ trading positions against losses on select financial instruments for a reasonable fee. Investors can pick a specific period in which AvaProtect™ will be active (Good ’til Canceled and Good ’til Time). The fee will be deducted from the investors’ cash balance.
What should I do if I receive a “Server Connection Failed Error” notice when using WebTrader?
You may receive the notice upon logging into your account due to an unsuccessful connection. To connect with the WebTrader’s server, simply tap on “Try Again” and use the app as usual. If the issue is not resolved, there might be an issue with your Internet connection. In this case, you can switch to another Internet source.
What can I get from AvaTrade’s Refer a Friend program?
You will receive a $250 commission if your friend makes an investment with AvaTrade. Once you have sent a special referral link to your friend, they need to open a position based on AvaTrade’s Terms and Conditions in three months.
Can I withdraw funds from my AvaTrade account to someone else’s banking account?
Unfortunately, you can only withdraw funds from an AvaTrade account using the payment method with which you initially funded your account. This is a part of AvaTrade’s commitment as a licensed broker to fight money laundering.
Pros
- Regulated in the EU, BVI, South Africa, Japan, and Australia. They have offices in 11 countries and have been a FOREX broker since 2006 (as AvaFX)
- Offers floating spreads on most major currency pairs. It also offers a special account for traders who have an account balance in excess of $100,000 (or equivalent in EUR, GBP or AUD), and trade more than 1000 standard lots per quarter.
- Doesn’t charge commissions, it makes money from the spreads. Many traders prefer this.
- Offer multiple trading platform
- Multilingual customer support
Cons
- Mobile app has been reported to be buggy on some devices.
Fixed spreads
Variable spreads
Stop losses
Limit orders
One-click trading
Trailing stops
Expert advisors (EAs)
Virtual private server
Direct market access
STP broker
ECN broker
Market maker
Price alerts
Signal trading
Watchlists
Charting tools
iOS App
Android App
Windows App
Major Stock markets (US UK Germany)
Indices
Penny stocks
Forex
Majors
ETF
CFDs
Bitcoin
Commodities
ETFs
IPO
Options
Futures
Bonds
Hong Kong stocks
Japanese stocks
Listed on Stock Exchange
Scalping
Hedging
Demo account
Islamic account
Micro account
Standard account
VIP account
Zero spread account
Managed account
Credit cards
Bank transfer
PayPal
Neteller
Skrill
Electronic wallets