AvaTrade Review – Is it Legit? (August 2024)
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Overall Rating
FAST FACTS
Account Minimum: $100
Fees: Zero Commission, fees on Spread
Best For: State of the Art Trading Platform
Warning: Trading Forex/CFD & Options on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to trade any such leveraged products you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite.
AvaTrade was founded in 2006 in Ireland. They still maintain a strong presence there but have since grown to become one of the top forex brokers in the sector offering services around the world.
A low minimum deposit requirement of just $100 across most of the available account types, coupled with respected regulation from a number of bodies worldwide, make AvaTrade a popular choice for new and experienced traders alike.
The broker offers an extensive range of assets to trade in which includes more than 60 currency pairs, and other markets for trading stocks, ETFs, crypto, and more. AvaTrade users can also avail of a very strong range of educational content with insightful material to fit all level of traders.
Pros
- Very well-regulated worldwide
- Excellent range of available markets include forex, CFDs, and cryptocurrency
- Wide range of top trading platforms available
- An extensive education section
Cons
- Demo account is limited to 21-days
- High inactivity fees
Trust
AvaTrade have managed to craft a very trusted reputation among traders in the industry over the years they have been in operation. This is thanks in a large part to their comprehensive regulation around the world. The broker is regulated by no less than 6 regulatory bodies globally. In Europe, they are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, while they also have oversight from ASIC in Australia, the FSCA in South Africa, and the FSA and FFAJ in Japan. They have additional regulation in place in both Abu Dhabi, and the British Virgin Islands.
Besides being highly compliant with regulators, they also have a number of measures in place to protect your funds as a trader. These include negative balance protection worldwide, the use of segregated bank accounts at top-tier banks to hold client funds, and further protection from the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF). This inclusive protection insures the funds of EU-based traders up to €20,000 in the event of financial issues at the broker, though they have a very stellar record in this regard.
Investment Products
The broker does well in providing a well-rounded range of asset choices for you to invest in. While they are predominantly focused on forex trading with a total of 60 forex currency pairs available, they also cater for a range of other markets including CFD trading in cryptocurrency, stocks, indices, commodities, bonds, and ETFS. They also provide for trading in 40 forex options through their dedicated AvaOptions trading platform.
Within these markets there is a great degree of scope with more than 100 stocks available to trade in major companies from around the world. If you are interested in crypto trading, then there are 13 crypto assets to trade in pairs with major currencies or other cryptos. In total, more than 200 assets are made available for trading with AvaTrade. This represents a good selection with assets to appeal to all types of trader. Added to this, if you are based in the UK or Ireland, you can also engage in spread betting through the broker.
Commission & Fees
AvaTrade promote commission-free trading through all of their available account types. This is made possible due in part to the fact that they are a market maker broker who essential operate their own internal market pricing and act as a counterpart to your trades. This is the opposite of some brokers who facilitate direct market access with reduced or no spread, but impose commission.
The spreads across the board at AvaTrade start at a competitive level. When trading major markets such as the EUR/USD forex market, you can expect spreads to start from 0.9 pips. This can reduce further if you open a professional trading account which the broker does offer. For these traders, the spreads start from 0.6 pips, though these accounts have a number of requirements and are generally only accessible to UK and EU traders.
Trading in markets other than forex, such as indices, crypto, and stocks, the spread generally has a starting point of between 0.13% (stocks), up to 0.35% (crypto).
AvaTrade fees are generally fair, and they do a good job at trying to limit these as much as possible. You should not typically incur a deposit or withdrawal fee with the exception of if you are using a wire transfer, or exchanging an unsupported base currency. As with all CFD broker, they do charge overnight fees, though these can be waived if you open an AvaTrade Islamic trading account. There is also an inactivity fee. This is relatively high at $50 after 3 months of inactivity, and for each subsequent 3-montn inactive period.
Trading Platform
AvaTrade does an excellent job when it comes to trading platforms. They recently addressed this area and now offer both Metatrader 4 and Metatrader 5 trading platforms as standard. These are two of the most well-respected and widely used trading platforms in the sector.
The broker also offer a Metatrader alternative in the form of their own proprietary AvaTrade trading platform offered as a webtrader for intuitive, in-browser trading with a vast range of charting capabilities, and additional features unique to the broker such as AvaProtect which allows you protection, for a fee, when you enter a position for a certain duration of time. Losses during this time period can be reimbursed. The platforms is also available on mobile as AvaTradeGo.
Added to this selection, they also provide a dedicated, user-friendly platform solely for options trading, AvaOptions. Copy trading too is catered for through the popular third-party trading platform Duplitrade which completes a strong lineup of trading platforms with something to offer everyone at Avatrade.
Customer Support
The customer support experience at AvaTrade is generally positive. They have a team available on a 24/5 basis through phone, email, and a web-based live chat service. This team can generally answer any questions you may have in a fast, professional manner. The broker website also supports a detailed FAQ section which addresses many of the most common questions you may have at any time.
The AvaTrade website also supports a number of additional languages and they have a number of office locations around the world who can provide additional phone support from your local area.
Education
The broker offers excellent access to a wide range of educational content to help you continue learning and growing as a trader. This content is suitable for all levels of trader whether you are a beginner, right up to a more advanced trader.
There are a total of 57 video tutorials available through the AvaTrade educational section which provide you a detailed guide through many aspects of forex trading. You will also have access to a number of additional resources including helpful ebooks, and a selection of free webinars that you can attend.
Summary
Overall, our AvaTrade review has found them to be an excellent broker choice. They are well regulated by a number of respected bodies to provide a very safe trading experience, try to keep trading costs as competitive as possible throughout a wide range of available markets, and offer a strong educational infrastructure that can assist you in improving your knowledge and skills.
Whether you are a brand new, or more experienced trader in the industry, AvaTrade represents a very well-rounded choice if you are looking for a major forex broker with a positive, longstanding reputation that also offers good value, and comprehensive support.
Accepted Countries: Australia, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Qatar and most other countries.
Prohibited Countries: United States, Belgium, Zimbabwe, Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan.