CMC Markets broker review
Considered one of the leading retail forex and CFD brokerages, CMC Markets (formerly Currency Management Corporation) now serves over 60,000 clients worldwide through its 15 offices. It offers over 10,000 CFD instruments across major asset classes including forex, commodities, and securities markets. Originally founded by English banker Peter Cruddas in 1989, CMC Markets pioneered trading on the internet with its Market-Maker software platform in the late 1990s. As of 2016, CMC Markets listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CMCX (LSE: CMCX), with an initial valuation of over $1 billion, making it one of the largest technology IPOs of 2016.
CMC Markets is regulated by several regulatory authorities in several countries. In the United Kingdom, they are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in the US by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission) in Australia. CMC Markets is also regulated and authorized to operate in Canada, France, Austria, Spain, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Singapore and New Zealand. It’s no surprise that CMC Markets claims one of the highest volumes of trading for forex and CFDs trading brokerages.
Markets Offered
With over 10,000 instruments available for its clients to trade, CMC Markets offers one of the largest selections of tradable CFDs. The table below summarizes the approximate categories of tradable instruments with their estimated spreads and margins
Tradable Instruments
| Asset class | Number of instruments | Spreads from | Margins from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex | 330+ | 0.7 points | 0.033 |
| Indices | 90+ | 0.3 points | 0.05 |
| Commodities | 110+ | 0.3 points | 0.05 |
| Shares & ETFs | 9,000+ | 0.10% | 0.2 |
| Treasuries | 50+ | 1 point | 0.2 |
| Cryptocurrencies | 5+ | 6 points | 0.5 |
Account Types
CMC Markets is a global provider with 15 offices located throughout the world. As such, the account features available across all the regions in which the operate vary from country to country. Generally speaking, CMC Markets’ clients have the option to choose from two types of trading accounts, “Fixed Risk Account” or “Regular Account”. Fixed risk account holders have the advantage of guaranteed stops which they pay an extra premium for. There is no minimum deposit requirement at CMC Markets, but traders cannot commence trading until a deposit is made.
Trading Account Features
| Account type | Regular | Fixed Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Scalping | Yes | Yes |
| Hedging | Yes | Yes |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Micro account | Yes | Yes |
| Standard account | Yes | Yes |
| Zero spread account | No | No |
| VIP account | Yes | Yes |
| Managed account | Yes | Yes |
| Islamic account | No | No |
| Min trade | .01 Lot | .01 Lot |
| Max trade | varies | varies |
| Min deposit | No | No |
Commission & Other fees
CMC Markets does charge a small commission charge for CFD trades. The commission varies depending on what country the trade originated from. A typical commission is 0.09% of the volume traded. As with most forex and CFD brokers, CMC Markets charges client for holding trades beyond the close of a trading day into the next day. Holding cost 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.
For a premium fee, CMC Markets offers a guaranteed stop-loss order (GSLO). It works the same way as a regular stop-loss order, except that it guarantees to exit a trade at the specified price regardless of market conditions. A monthly inactivity charge of £10 (or its equivalent in another currency) is assessed to accounts for which there are no open positions and there has been no other trading activity for a continuous period of two years. Additionally, CMC Markets charges a market data subscription fee for Australian and Hong Kong share CFDs on their trading platform. However, the fee is refunded if 2 or more trades are executed per month.
CMC Markets maintains segregated accounts for its retail clients. CMC Markets does charge fees for funding and withdraw transactions for accounts outside of the United Kingdom and vary depending on what country the transaction originated from. Accounts can be funded and withdraws made by debit or credit card, and bank transfers.
Opening an account with CMC Markets is usually completed within 1 to 3-days but requires that certified hard copies of documentation be mailed in before withdraws can be made on the account. Documents required are a valid ID (i.e. passport, driver’s license, or national ID), and proof of address (i.e. bank statement, mortgage statement, utility bill, or tax invoice dated within the last three months and issued to your name and address). CMC Markets’ services are not available to U.S. Residents.
Trading Platform
One of CMC Markets’ most prolific advantages it claims to offer its traders is its Next Generation trading platform. Appropriately named “Next Generation,” the state-of-the-art platform was developed by CMC Markets’ in-house IT department and is the culmination of more than $100 million and 20 years of industry experience, and the latest innovations in online trading software. Below is a screen sot of the platform:
Next Generation Trading Platform
The Next Generation trading platform is a feature-rich platform, including the following features:
- Fully customizable views for charts, quotes, and trading tool layouts.
- Trade directly from the charts.
- Comprehensive Technical Analysis with over 80 technical indicators.
- Client sentiment indicator for all products.
- Full range of order types including 1-click trading, price ladder, boundary orders and guaranteed stops.
- Pattern recognition software built in for chart pattern traders.
- Stock screening tool.
- Reuters news built into the platform.
The Next Generation trading platform has been awarded Best Platform Features and Best Mobile Phone/Tablet Platform; ranked highest for Platform Reliability and Charting, based on highest user satisfaction among spread betters, CFD and FX traders, Investment Trends 2017 UK Leverage Trading Report; Best Online Trading Platform, Shares Awards 2016; Best Forex Trading Platform, UK Forex Awards 2016.
The Next Generation trading platform does not allow for automated algorithmic driven trading strategies, or trading signals, and CMC Markets does not support Meta Trader 4 (MT4).
Education
CMC Markets has a very comprehensive education section on its website that is dedicated to assisting its trader with learning about trading. The center includes tutorials, webinars, and instructional videos that range from basic to advanced concepts and trading techniques.
With a wide selection of educational tools, including live and written articles, videos, podcasts and live webinars, CMC Markets is a decent player in the industry.
The educational offerings of CMC Markets are designed to help traders improve their skills and knowledge. They cover many topics, including forex trading and strategy guides. There are also 140 educational articles covering technical analysis and fundamental topics.
On its YouTube channel, CMC Markets features a variety of educational podcasts, platform tutorials, and videos. Some of these are available on its trading platforms, such as the Opto Sessions, Artful Trader, and the video playlist of trading strategies.
CMC Markets also has a wide selection of live and recorded webinar programs led by its in-house analysts and Trade with Precision, a third-party provider.
CMC Markets has a collection of ebooks called the Trading Smart Series that traders can buy. The series is designed to help improve your knowledge about the financial markets, featuring a variety of practical and informative guides that will help you develop a stronger trading strategy. The collection ranges from how to do technical analysis — such as using trendlines, recognizing chart patterns and using other indicators, to a guide on becoming a successful day trader.
One of the biggest areas of improvement that CMC Markets can make is to create a central repository for all its educational materials, which would allow it to compete with other providers such as AvaTrade and IG. It should also restore the production rate of its YouTube videos, which since 2021 has slowed down compared to its Opto CMC channel.
Customer Support
CMC Markets offers 24 hours a day during the entire trading week. Communication with the support team is available by email, live chat or by calling the support team via telephone. Languages supported include Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norway, Portuguese, and Spanish.
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Safety
Is CMC Markets safe?
The trust score of CMC Markets is 99 out of 99, and the platform is considered low-risk. Unlike other financial firms, CMC Markets is considered to be low-risk. It is publicly traded, doesn’t have a bank, and is only authorized by a group of tier-1 regulators with the highest level of trust in the industry. Some of these regulators include the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Financial Markets Authority (FMA) – New Zealand, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The security of placing orders through CMC Markets is also very secure. They use SSL encryption to ensure that all traffic between your devices and the trading platform is secure. CMC Markets also use two-factor authentication (2FA) as another layer of protection.
Please note that despite this strong security, you should never share your trading PIN or password with anyone else. Doing so could allow someone else to access it. Some good practices to follow when it comes to financial sites are:
Never use public computers to access a financial site. There may be software on these machines that can access your passwords.
Have an antivirus program and firewall on your computer.
Avoid following links in emails that ask you to confirm your login details.
Your information may be used by CMC Markets to send you marketing messages and to combat fraud. But CMC Markets do not sell your information to third parties for any other purpose. To learn more about how CMC Markets use and protect your personal information, please read CMC Markets’ security policy.
FAQs
Does CMC Markets offer a demo account?
Yes. You can open a free demo account with CMC Markets and try out their trading platform without having to make a deposit. This is a great way to try out the platform and improve your skills.
Fill out this form and provide CMC Markets with a valid email address, phone number and password. You will then be prompted to click on the link that will allow you to activate your account.
How do I fund my account?
You can use a debit or credit card to fund your Next Generation account. There is a 1% fee for making payments using a credit card and a 0.6% fee for making payments using a debit card. CMC Markets does not accept cash deposits or cheque payments. Ensure the payment is in your name, as any third-party funds you send will be returned.
Regardless of the type of card you use, CMC Markets will not accept payments using Diners or American Express cards. If funds are sent from outside of Australia, additional charges may apply. Net proceeds from the transaction will be credited to your account, and charges will be deducted from the total.
How do I place a trade at CMC Markets?
On the left side of the screen, select the “SELL” or “BUY” price to open an order ticket. You can then choose the order type, such as “Market Order”, “Limit Order”, or “Stop Entry Order”. You can also add any “Stop Loss” and “Take Profit” levels to your trade.
You can also use the mobile apps of CMC Markets to view a chart and set trade levels. They also allow you to display the relevant historical price action and risk management levels. On tablets, the chart is shown on the left side of the order ticket.
Can I open a forex trading account at CMC Markets?
Yes. Currently, CMC Markets offers various types of financial instruments, such as share CFDs, on many foreign exchange pairs. However, CMC Markets do not offer physical FX trading.
Can I have more than one trade on the same product?
Yes. You can open multiple trades on the same product by going to the “Accounts” tab and clicking on the “Position” button. You can see the cluster of positions you’re holding on the platform or the total amount of your trade.
Where do I find my CMC Markets account number?
The account number is located in the top left-hand corner of the platform’s screen. You can also see it in the email you received when your account opened.
Pros
- Founded in 1989, a publicly traded company in the UK. Regulated by numerous regulators; FCA and ASIC.
- European client funds are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £50,000.
- Offers a wide range of CFDs and spread betting products, as well as a bespoke trading platform.
Cons
- May not be a great option for people who are outside of the UK or EU, because they have very strict KYC policies that may require notarized documentation to be submitted
- Their platform gets great reviews, but there will be a learning curve for new clients
- Inactivity fee after one month
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