If you are looking for a high-trust global brokerage offering competitive pricing in CFDs and spread betting as well as a wide range of tradable instruments and feature-rich trading platforms, then you may find CMC Markets as quite an appropriate choice.
In the current broker review, we will pay attention to the key aspects of CMC Markets, which you may consider before deciding whether to trade with this brokerage. Trustpilot users have given CMC Markets a high rating of 4.2/5. The brand’s score is based on a total of 1,963 customer reviews, with a predominant part of reviewers (67%) giving CMC Markets the highest score of 5 stars. Meanwhile, 10% of the customer’s feedback includes 1-star reviews.
CMC Markets Overall Summary Table | |
---|---|
Year Founded | 1989 |
Minimum Deposit | $0 |
Tradable Instruments | Forex, Commodities, Stock CFDs, Stock Indices, Cryptocurrencies, Treasuries |
Key Pros and Cons
Let us first provide a quick snapshot of CMC Markets’ advantages and disadvantages.
Key Pros
- Extensive, interactive education content
- Award-winning proprietary web-based trading platform and mobile trading app
- Simple, spread-based pricing model
- Extensive CFD product list
- Additional risk management tools available (GSLOs)
- No fees on deposits and withdrawals as well as no minimum deposit requirement
- Award-winning customer support service
Key Cons
- No US and Japanese clients
- Limited account type options
- Limited account funding methods
- Negative Balance Protection limited to EU and UK retail clients
Company Information
The foundation of CMC Markets
Founded by Peter Cruddas in 1989, CMC Markets is currently one of the leading global providers of online CFD trading and spread betting services. The brokerage now has offices located in London, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Frankfurt, Oslo, Stockholm, Warsaw, Toronto, Sydney, Auckland and Singapore and serves more than 300,000 clients from 70 countries.
Launch trading platform
In 2010, the broker launched its in-house trading platform, Next Generation, while in 2016 the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange with an initial market capitalization of GBP 693 million. CMC Markets plc (LSE: CMCX) became part of the FTSE 250 equity index for the first time on June 20th 2016.
The CMC Markets group is comprised of the following corporate entities with their respective offices:
- CMC Markets UK plc, office address: London, 133 Houndsditch EC3A 7BX;
- CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty Ltd, office address: Sydney, Australia, Level 20, Tower 3, International Towers 300 Barangaroo Avenue;
- CMC Markets Austria CMC Markets Germany GmbH, office address: Vienna, Austria, Millennium Tower Wehlistrasse 66/5 1200;
- CMC Markets Canada Inc, office address: Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 100 Adelaide St. West, Suite 2915 M5H 1S3;
- CMC Markets China, office address: Shanghai, China, Level 34, Shanghai Tower Middle Yincheng Road;
- CMC Markets Germany GmbH, office address: Frankfurt, Germany, Garden Tower Neue Mainzer Str. 46-50 60329;
- CMC Markets NZ ltd, office address: Auckland, New Zealand, Level 25, 151 Queen Street;
- CMC Markets Norway, office address: Oslo, Norway, Fridtjof Nansens plass 6 0160;
- CMC Singapore, office address: 50 Raffles Place #30-02/03 Republic 048623;
- CMC Markets Spain, office address: Madrid, Spain, C/ Serrano 21, 4a planta 28001;
- CMC Markets Germany GmbH Spółka z Ograniczoną Odpowiedzialnością Oddział w Polsce, office address: Warsaw, Poland, ul. Emilii Plater 53, 00-113.
We should note that CMC Markets does not accept clients based in countries such as Japan and the United States.
Why Trade with CMC Markets?
Now, let us provide a quick list of the key features that we like about CMC Markets.
Aspect | What we like |
---|---|
Regulation | A broker with good reputation and very strong regulation – regulated by four high-trust regulatory bodies. |
Education | Profound, diverse education materials available. Probably one of the best education content within the industry. |
Trading Platforms | Award-winning proprietary web-based platform and mobile trading app. Both rich in features. Additional trading tools available on both Next Generation and MetaTrader 4 platforms. |
Trading Instruments | Exceptionally wide selection of tradable instruments (over 11,000) across asset classes such as Currency Pairs, Commodities, Stock CFDs, Stock Indices, Cryptocurrencies and Treasuries. |
Ways to Trade | Opportunity to choose between traditional CFD trading and spread betting. Along with their advantages, you should be aware that both involve a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. |
Customer Support | Award-winning, 24/5 support service via several channels. |
Regulation
Similar to other major brokerages we reviewed, CMC Markets is a global online CFD and Forex brokers authorized and regulated in a range of jurisdictions. In this case, we can say that the broker’s regulation is very strong, as it complies with strict regulatory standards of four Tier 1 industry regulators, as follows:
- The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom;
- The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia;
- The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in Singapore;
- The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) in Canada.
Additionally, CMC Markets is regulated by two average-trust regulators:
- The Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) in Germany/European Economic Area;
- The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) in New Zealand.
A breakdown of the various regulation regimes is presented below.
Region | Entity | Authority | License | |
---|---|---|---|---|
UK | CMC Markets UK plc | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) | Registration number 173730 | |
Australia | CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty Ltd | Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) | AFSL No. 238054 | |
Singapore | CMC Markets Singapore Pte. Ltd | Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) | Registration number/UEN 200605050E | |
Canada | CMC Markets Canada Inc | Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) | ||
Germany/EU | CMC Markets Germany GmbH | BaFin | Registration number 154814 | |
New Zealand | CMC Markets NZ Limited | Financial Markets Authority (FMA) | Registration number 1705324 |
CMC Markets’ FCA regulation means UK-based retail clients will be able to receive compensation of up to GBP 85,000 from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), if the company’s UK subsidiary becomes insolvent.
And, CMC Markets’ BaFin regulation means that EU-based retail traders will be compensated for up to EUR 20,000 from the Securities Trading Companies Compensation Scheme (EdW) in an event of broker failure.
On the other hand, the lack of CFTC regulation means that CMC Markets cannot provide online trading services to clients based in the United States.
KYC Procedure for Account Creation and Depositing
Signing up with CMC Markets turned out to be fast and hassle-free process. The procedure is entirely online and took us about 15 minutes, while our live account was verified within 1 business day. The procedure was rather standard and included the following steps:
- Selecting a country of residence and inputting an email address and a password;
- Entering a confirmation code, which the broker will send you via email;
- Selecting an account type, a base account currency and whether this will be an individual or a joint account;
- Entering personal details and some financial data;
- You can now use CMC Markets’ demo account. Next, the broker will require of you to verify your identity and to provide proof of residency. For identity verification, you will need to upload a photo of both sides of your driver’s license, or a national ID card, or a passport. To verify your residency, you will be required to upload one of the following: a bank statement, a utility bill, a mortgage statement, or a credit card statement;
- Once the trading account is verified by the broker, you will have to make your initial deposit to begin trading.
We should also note that CMC Markets will conduct a suitability test, where you will be asked to provide information about your employment, income, trading knowledge and experience.
Account Types
CMC Markets does not seem to have specified any account types, but we found that the broker actually offers two types of live trading accounts:
- CFD trading account
- Spread betting account.
CFD trading account
Spread betting account
No ECN/STP accounts
Currently, the broker does not offer any ECN/STP account types, which are usually associated with the lowest spreads possible plus a small commission and are favored by both high-frequency traders and professionals.
Multi Accounts Manager – MAM/PAMM
CMC Markets does not offer MAM/PAMM solutions, which usually suit money managers.
Islamic Account (Swap-Free)
CMC Markets also does not offer a swap-free account type, which usually suits traders of Muslim faith. These accounts comply with Sharia Law, which does not allow interest payments.
Demo Account
A free demo account with unlimited duration is available with this brokerage. Since it mimics real-time trading conditions, the demo account is very appropriate for testing a variety of trading strategies in a risk-free environment, by using virtual funds. The demo also allows novice traders to get acquainted with the broker’s platform features and tools.
We should note, however, that CMC Markets’ demo account does not display Stock CFD quotes.
Trading fees and other costs
Keeping your trading costs low is essential, but you will have to do a profound research of a particular brokerage to make a decision. As with any other CFD and Forex broker, with CMC Markets you will need to be aware of two types of fees:
- Trading fees – spreads, commissions and overnight financing rates;
- Non-trading fees – account management fees, deposit and withdrawal fees, non-activity fees.
Let us provide a breakdown of those two categories and see how CMC Markets fares on this front.
Costs/fees | What is this? | with CMC Markets |
---|---|---|
Spreads | The cost incorporated into the price of what you trade. A wider bid-ask spread means higher costs. |
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Commissions | A flat fee paid per position often used as an alternative to charging via the spread. |
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Financing charges | The cost of holding a position active overnight. | The broker will not charge an extra fee on top of standard swap rates. |
Deposit fees | Fees charged by the broker to fund your account. | None (see Deposit Methods below) |
Withdrawal fees | Fees charged by the broker to withdraw money from your account. | None (see Withdrawal Methods below) |
Inactivity fees | Fees charged on dormant trading accounts. | $15 per month fee after 12 successive months of no trading activity |
Spreads
CMC Markets appears to compete very well in terms of CFD spreads with other peers that operate a market maker broker model. Spreads at CMC Markets are variable, but the brokerage has not disclosed the average spreads offered across its product list. Therefore, let us take a look at the minimum spreads offered on the three most actively traded Forex pairs globally.
Instrument | CMC Markets | IG | FXCM | OANDA |
---|---|---|---|---|
EUR/USD | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
USD/JPY | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
GBP/USD | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
USD/CHF | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
AUD/USD | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
USD/CAD | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
NZD/USD | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
Instrument | Classic Account (Minimum Spreads) |
---|---|
EUR/USD | 0.5 |
USD/JPY | 0.7 |
GBP/USD | 0.9 |
USD/CHF | 1.2 |
AUD/USD | 0.6 |
USD/CAD | 1.7 |
NZD/USD | 1.1 |
Next, let us see how CMC Markets fares compared to peers when it comes to minimum spreads offered on Metals and Energies.
Instrument | CMC Markets | IG | AvaTrade | OANDA |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gold | 0.30 | 0.10 | 0.34 | 7.56 |
Silver | 2.50 | 1.80 | 0.029 | 3.00 |
WTI Crude Oil | 2.50 | 2.60 | 0.03 | 3.00 |
Commissions
CMC Markets will not charge extra commissions for CFD trading, since it is entirely compensated by the bid-ask spread. This means you will incur no broker fees when you open or close a position. The only exceptions, as we will discuss, are Shares CFDs.
Financing charges
If you hold a currency position overnight, you will incur an overnight financing charge, or swap rate. This charge is determined by the overnight interest rate differential between the two currencies included in the particular pair and whether you are holding a long position or a short position. The swap rates for Forex pairs are based on the tomorrow to next day (tom-next) rate in the underlying market and are presented as an annual percentage:
- Swap rate for long positions = tom-next rate % + 0.0027%;
- Swap rate for short positions = tom-next rate % – 0.0027%.
The swap rates for some of the most actively traded currency pairs are presented as follows:
Currency Pair | Long Position | Short Position |
---|---|---|
AUD/USD | 20.0031% | 20.0027% |
EUR/USD | 0.0046% | 0.0011% |
GBP/USD | 0.0029% | 0.0027% |
USD/JPY | 0.0021% | 0.0038% |
Deposit fees
CMC Markets will not charge any deposit fees, which has become a fairly standard practice among international brokers.
Withdrawal fees
CMC Markets will also not charge any withdrawal fees on all payment options available. The only exceptions are international wire transfers.
Inactivity fees
The broker will begin charging an inactivity fee of $15 per month, in case there has been a period of 12 consecutive months with no trading activity. The fee will be deducted from your available account balance.
We can say that the fee amount is reasonable and the dormant account period is fairly long. Some brokerages will start charging such a fee after only 3 straight months of no trading activity, while others will charge an administration fee along with the inactivity fee.
Overall on Fees
Apparently, CMC Markets’ pricing model is simple to understand – tight spreads on Forex products and other CFDs, no extra commission fees and no extra fees on top of overnight financing charges. On the downside, you will incur an inactivity fee after a certain period with no trading activity.
Desktop Trading Platforms
With CMC Markets, you will be granted access to both in-house and third-party trading platforms. Yet, the broker’s offering of third-party trading software, unlike some of its major competitors, includes the MetaTrader 4 only. Platforms such as cTrader, NinjaTrader or MetaTrader 5 are, at present, not available.
CMC Markets’ Next Generation platform
Next Generation is CMC Markets’ proprietary web-based trading platform, which tends to be quite rich in features and functionalities.
First of all, you will be able to take advantage of the platform’s advanced charting package, which includes more than 115 technical indicators and drawing objects, over 70 chart patterns and 12 chart types, allowing for precise technical analysis. CMC Markets has been awarded as the Best Broker for Charting, based on highest user satisfaction among spread betters, CFD and FX traders in the Investment Trends 2017 UK Leverage Trading Report.
Second, the platform allows you to look for common technical chart patterns and candlestick setups on active charts across short-term and long-term timeframes with the help of CMC Markets’ price projection tool.
Third, the software offers the module linking capability. Or, you will be able to group together different modules so that whenever you change the product in one module, all other grouped modules will be automatically updated to display that new product.
Fourth, there are additional trading tools you can employ in your market analysis. One such tool is the pattern recognition scanner, which will automatically notify you when a popular chart pattern (triangle, wedge or channel) emerges across 120 of the broker’s most popular products. Another useful feature includes the Client Sentiment tool, which displays the number of CMC Markets’ clients and their ‘Position Value’ in near real time.
Fifth, the Next Generation platform also enables you to fully customize your design layouts. Or, you will be able to save and switch between up to five different trading layouts – Five-minute chart layout, FX chart layout, Share layout, Market overview layout and Trade ideas layout.
Sixth, you will be able to use advanced order options for better management of trade entry, exit and risk exposure. Those options include boundary orders, trailing stops, price ladders, guaranteed stop-loss orders among others.
Seventh, you can also access a range of market news and analysis sources directly from the trading platform. Those include daily commentaries in the form of written and video content by CMC Markets’ global team of market analysts, daily videos on the broker’s YouTube channel (CMC TV), as well as access to Morningstar quantitative equity research reports and Reuters news.
On the other hand, the main drawback we found is that the Next Generation platform does not offer algorithmic trading capabilities. In other words, if you wish to automate your trading and to optimize and backtest your strategies, you will need to choose CMC Markets’ MetaTrader 4 software.
MetaTrader 4
The most popular software for Forex trading, MetaTrader 4, comes equipped with a range of customization options, trading tools and chart types. With CMC Markets, you will have access not only to built-in technical indicators, but also to thousands more free and paid indicators available for download.
The broker’s MT4 software offers 12 add-ons, including Mini Terminal and Sentiment Trader, as well as 15 extra technical indicators such as Pivot Points, Renko or Keltner channel.
You will also be able to trade micro lots, which allows for tighter risk management, especially when using leverage.
But most notably, the trading platform allows you to develop, optimize and backtest automated trading strategies in a sound MQL4 environment.
Last but not least, you will have access to MT4 Trading Signals, the platform’s own copy trading feature, allowing you to replicate the trading activity of other users in real time (which can be selected by particular parameters).
Mobile Trading Platforms
Similar to other leading Forex brokerages such as ThinkMarkets, CMC Markets offers its own proprietary mobile app for both iOS and Android devices, which translates very well from the broker’s web-based trading platform.
This intuitive mobile trading app allows traders the convenience to open, close and modify positions while on the go and to take advantage of advanced order ticketing as well as mobile-optimized charting capabilities. Additionally, over 11,000 trading instruments are available to trade either as CFDs or as spread bets.
Other key features of CMC Markets’ mobile trading app include:
- Fully customizable dashboard and ability to use topical watchlists;
- Access to a rich suite of analytical tools – more than 25 technical indicators and 15 drawing objects;
- Ability to set up alerts via push notification, email or SMS;
- Access to Client Sentiment tracker tool that displays the behavior of other traders, with data being updated in real time;
- Free access to market news and analysis from the broker’s in-house analysts as well as access to other reputable sources such as Reuters and Morningstar. A comprehensive economic calendar is also available;
- There are also some new security features available such as fingerprint authentication and lock-app timer.
Let us also not forget to mention that CMC Markets’ in-house mobile app has received multiple industry awards such as:
- Best Mobile/Tablet App for 2019, Investment Trends UK Leverage Trading Report;
- Best Trading App for 2019, Financial Times Wealth Management Awards;
- Top Mobile/Tablet App for 2019, Shares Awards.
Along with the broker’s proprietary mobile app, you can also access third-party mobile apps for MetaTrader 4, which offer many of the valuable features available on the desktop version of the platform (one-click trading, micro lot trading, a number of MT4 add-ons, market sentiment tool and so on).
CMC Markets Mobile Trading Platform | ||
---|---|---|
Android | iOS | |
Minimum System Requirements | Android 8.0 and up | iOS 15.0 or later |
User Rating | 4/5 | 4.6/5 |
User Reviews | 2,763 votes | 14 ratings |
Supported Languages | English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish | English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish |
Forex Pairs | 300+ | 330+ |
Other Tradable Assets | CFDs on indices, commodities, shares, and treasuries | CFDs on indices, commodities, shares, ETFs, and treasuries |
Features | over 40 technical analysis indicators and drawing tools, advanced order tickets, real-time market calendar with push alerts, access to market analysis, client sentiment analysis | 13 chart types, over 40 indicators, dozens of drawing tools, advanced order types and trading alerts, access to real-time news and analysis, client sentiment analysis |
Biometric Authentication | Yes | Yes |
2-Factor Authentication | Yes | Yes |
Trading Instruments
CMC Markets is mostly a Forex and CFD brokerage. Or, it does not provide access to real Stocks, unlike some of its major stock brokers and CFD brokers. Yet, what truly impresses here is the exceptionally wide selection of tradable instruments – more than 9,500, accessed through the broker’s range of trading platforms.
Asset Class | CMC Markets | Rating | IC Markets | OANDA |
---|---|---|---|---|
Forex | 330+ | Excellent | 61 | 70 |
Indices | 80+ | Excellent | 23 | 15 |
Commodities | 100+ | Excellent | 22 | 31 |
Stock CFDs | 8,000+ | Excellent | 1,600+ | 0 |
Cryptocurrency | 14 | Good | 13 | 2 |
Bonds | 50+ | Excellent | 11 | 6 |
Futures | 0 | n/a | 4 | 0 |
Options | 0 | n/a | 0 | 0 |
Let us now take a closer look at the product list.
Foreign Exchange
Currently, CMC Markets offers more than 330 major, minor and exotic currency pairs to trade, which is well above the average within the industry. Spreads offered on some of the Forex majors such as EUR/USD, AUD/USD and USD/JPY start from 0.7 pips, which is in line with competition, but quite far from ultra-thin spreads offered by true ECN brokerages such as IC Markets or Pepperstone. Still, you can take advantage of ultra-fast execution of your Forex trades, with execution speed being 0.0045 seconds. Another interesting offering includes CMC Markets’ Forex Indices, which are comprised of a range of currency pairs sharing the same base currency. 12 Forex Indices are available to trade, including CMC USD Index, CMC GBP Index, CMC EUR Index and CMC AUD Index. The maximum leverage available for currency pairs is 1:30, while that on Forex Indices is 1:20.
Stock Index CFDs
You will be able to access CFDs on more than 80 cash and forward Equity Indices such as Australia S&P ASX 200 Index, FTSE 100, DJIA 30, S&P 500 or DAX 30. The maximum leverage allowed is 1:20, spreads start from 0.5 pips (on US S&P 500) and there will be no trading commissions charged. Overall, CMC Markets’ selection of Stock Index CFDs far exceeds the average among other industry competitors.
Stock CFDs
With CMC Markets, you are able to trade CFDs on over 8,000 Stocks in 23 countries on its proprietary Next Generation platform. The max leverage you can access for trading Shares CFDs is 1:5, while the minimum commission you will have to pay for each trade is 0.10% for UK and EU Shares and $0.02 for US-listed Shares. Additionally, you can access over 1,000 ETFs traded with minimum spreads of 1.0 point and maximum leverage of 1:5. The min. commission charged on ETF CFD trading is $10. We can say that CMC Markets competes well on the Stock and ETF CFD front with industry leaders such as IG.
Commodity CFDs
There are over 100 cash and forward Commodities available to trade, including Spot Energies, Spot Metals such as trading gold, silver, platinum or palladium and Agriculture Commodities such as coffee, sugar or wheat. The min. spreads start from 0.30 pips on Spot Gold, while the max. leverage available is 1:20 (only on Spot Gold). You can access leverage ratios of up to 1:10 on all other Commodities. Additionally, you can trade 3 Commodity Indices that focus on a particular sector – Precious Metals Index, Energy Index and Agricultural Index. The maximum leverage available for trading those Indices is 1:10. Again, CMC Markets’ selection of Commodity CFDs tends to be well above the industry average.
Cryptocurrency CFDs
As many as 14 different digital currencies can be traded in pairs against the US Dollar in the form of CFDs. This selection tends to match the offers of most major crypto brokers. The maximum leverage allowed is 1:2, while the spreads offered on some of the instruments tend to be wider than those of competition. You will find popular Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin , Ethereum and Litecoin along with some altcoins such as TRON, EOS or NEO. There are also 3 Crypto Indices available to trade – All Crypto Index, Major Crypto Index and Emerging Crypto Index.
Bond CFDs
CMC Markets offers CFDs on over 50 bonds issued by governments across the EU, the UK and the US, as well as on Interest Rates such as Euribor. The maximum leverage allowed for Bond CFD trading is 1:30, while the one on Interest Rate CFDs is set to 1:5. You will not be charged any commissions for trading Bonds and Interest Rates. All in all, it is a really good selection of CFDs, given that not many online brokers offer their clientele Bonds and Interest Rates as tradable instruments.
On the other hand, what you cannot trade at CMC Markets are Options CFDs, Futures CFDs and some more complex instruments sought out by professional traders.
Last but not least, CFD trading is one possible way to operate with CMC Markets’ trading instruments. Clients residing in the UK and Ireland are also able to benefit from the advantages of spread betting such as:
- gains from spread bets are not subject to capital gains tax;
- no obligation to pay stamp duty, as traders simply speculate on price movement of instruments and do not actually own the asset;
- no trading commissions are charged.
Trade Execution
CMC Markets operates a dealing desk broker model, or simply put, it is a market maker. This brokerage model has both its pros and cons.
On the upside, you will have access to fast execution of your trade orders, as they are carried out in-house. Also, you will have access to competitive spreads (meaning low trading costs) and will not be charged any commissions on both CFD trades and spread bets (since CMC Markets is entirely compensated by the bid-ask spread).
On the downside, as a market maker, CMC Markets will act as counter-party on all your CFD trades and spread bets. This in fact means the brokerage will be trading against you. It is crucial that you are aware of this circumstance when you make your decision whether to trade with such a broker or not.
For the time being, CMC Markets does not appear to offer STP or ECN order execution.
Deposit Methods
CMC Markets has no minimum deposit requirement, which is a plus for novice traders, as they can start trading with any amount they feel comfortable. Another advantage is that the brokerage will not charge any deposit fees for all payment options available. Still, you should bear in mind that all bank transfers from outside of the UK may be associated with additional fees, which are beyond CMC Markets’ control.
The brokerage accepts deposits made in 10 different base account currencies, including British Pound, Australian Dollar, US Dollar, Euro, Canadian Dollar, Singaporean Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Swedish Krona, Norwegian Krone and Polish Zloty. This is valid if you intend to open a CFD trading account. In case you wish to open a spread betting account (only for residents of the UK and Ireland), you can deposit funds in two base currencies only – British Pound and Euro.
On the downside, the selection of account funding options available tends to be a bit limited. You can choose from the following payment methods:
Method | Processing Time |
---|---|
Credit and Debit Cards by Visa or MasterCard | instant processing of deposits; |
PayPal | instant processing of deposits; |
Bank Transfer | processing time between 2 and 5 business days; |
Currently, there are no deposit bonuses available with CMC Markets.
Withdrawal Methods
UK-based withdrawals will be processed the same day, if the withdrawal request is sent before 2:00 pm GMT. Non-UK withdrawals will be processed the same day, if the withdrawal request is submitted prior to 11:00 am GMT.
CMC Markets will not charge any additional fees on fund withdrawals, in case the latter are made via local bank transfers, Credit or Debit Cards and PayPal.
On the other hand, if you wish to get the funds instantly (through bank transfer), or if you withdraw via an international bank transfer, the broker will charge you a GBP 15 fee.
Additionally, we should note that if you operate through a spread betting account, you will not be able to withdraw funds to Credit or Debit Cards by MasterCard.
Withdrawals made via Debit or Credit Cards may take up to 5 business days to clear, while international bank wire transfers may take longer – up to two weeks. And, withdrawals via PayPal will usually clear within 1 business day.
Customer Support Contacts
CMC Markets offers professional customer support service 24 hours a day, 5 days in a week. You can contact the broker’s support team via several channels:
Support contact | Available | Response |
---|---|---|
Live Chat | 24/5 | Less than 30 seconds |
Telephone contact | 24/5 | Less than a minute |
Email contact | 24/5 | Within several hours |
FAQs | 24/7 | On the website |
- Live Chat – This is the fastest way to reach a representative from the brokerage. We were left with quite a positive impression after our live chat experience, because we received a response in less than half a minute and obtained relevant and precise information about the matters we were interested in. We asked about CMC Markets’ spread betting conditions.
- Telephone contact – Contacting CMC Markets over the phone also turned out to be quite fast – the response time was no longer than 30-40 seconds. We contacted the broker’s UK office during local business hours by dialing +44 (0)20 7170 8200 and were treated in a truly professional manner. But what is more important, we received very precise information about the matters of interest to us.
The broker’s support team at other regulated offices can be contacted over the phone during local business hours:
- Australia – by dialing 1300 303 888
- Canada – by dialing 1 866 884 2608
- Austria – by dialing +43 (0)1 532 1349 0
- Poland – by dialing 22 160 56 00
- Germany – by dialing +49 (0) 69 22 22 440 00
- New Zealand – by dialing 0800 26 26 27
- Singapore – by dialing 1800 559 6000.
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Email contact – You can also send your inquiries by email. The brokerage has provided several email contacts, as follows:
- clientmanagement@cmcmarkets.co.uk
- clientservices@cmcmarkets.com
- kundenservice@cmcmarkets.at
- contact@cmcmarkets.ca
- info@cmcmarkets.co.nz
- biuro@cmcmarkets.pl
- info@cmcmarkets.com.sg.
We received precise and timely (less than 4 hours) emailed response to our queries, after contacting CMC Markets’ support team during UK business hours.
- FAQs – If you have some more general inquiries, you can always check out the broker’s extensive list of Frequently Asked Questions for a possible resolution. In CMC Markets’ Help Center, you will find FAQs related to account applications, charges, products, trading platforms, security, trading issues, user guides, account funding and withdrawals among others.
We should also mention some of CMC Markets’ awards relating to its customer support service:
- Highest Overall Customer Satisfaction, 2019, Investment Trends UK Leverage Trading Report;
- Customer Service, 2018, Investment Trends Australia Leverage Trading Report;
- Customer Service Team of the Year – Small, 2018, Australian Service Excellence Awards;
- Highest Overall Client Satisfaction, 2018, Investment Trends UK & Australia Leverage Trading Report.
As was the case with other industry leader, Pepperstone, CMC Markets did not receive the top mark here, because it does not offer customer support service over the weekend.
Research and Educational Materials
Our review has found that CMC Markets offers a quite comprehensive and diversified educational section for its clients, probably one of the best in the industry, along with IG. It includes content in written form, video tutorials as well as webinars. Here is what you will find:
- Trading guides presented as videos on topics such as Technical Analysis, Fundamental Analysis and Trading Strategies;
- Guides in written form on topics such as Trading the News and an Overview of Financial Markets;
- Guides in both video and written form on CFD trading;
- Guides in written form about Bitcoin, Ethereum as well as risks and benefits of Cryptocurrency trading;
- Guides in both video and written form about all aspects of Forex trading;
- An interactive guide focused on Spread Betting, including strategies;
- A comprehensive guide on CMC Markets’ proprietary trading platform – Next Generation, including order execution, charting, features, technical and fundamental tools;
- A guide on Forex industry standard, MetaTrader 4;
- Live events such as in-house webinars, conducted regularly, where you can access live analysis from industry experts and acquire new skills in real time. These events are meant to suit trading needs of both beginners and more advanced traders.
Currently, CMC Markets does not offer any E-books.
In terms of research, the brokerage offers content such as:
- Fundamental data analyses via Morningstar reports that can be accessed through the Next Generation platform;
- Daily market news and analysis by CMC Markets’ in-house analysts available on the broker’s web page. Additional news feed by Thomson Reuters is available on the Next Generation platform;
- CMC TV – the broker’s YouTube channel that provides market updates and technical analysis several times per week;
- Customizable Economic Calendar that offers near real-time updates on key macro data and other events.
Let us also mention some of CMC Markets’ awards relating to its educational content:
- Educational Materials/Programs, 2018, Investment Trends Australia Leverage Trading Report;
- Education Materials, 2016, Investment Trends UK Leverage Trading Report.
Security and Money Guarantees
Our team of experts at bestbrokers.com believes that your money is safe with a trustworthy, multi-regulated global brokerage such as CMC Markets. Key findings include:
- Over 3 decades of business history and growth
- Tier 1 ASIC and FCA regulation
- FSCS and EdW compensation for UK and EU clients
- Negative balance protection (for EU and UK clients only)
- Guaranteed stop-loss order available for CFD and spread betting positions.
High-trust ASIC and FCA regulation provides assurance that the broker conducts business in a transparent and ethical manner. Top-tier regulation also mandates that all client funds are kept fully segregated from the broker’s own corporate accounts in trust accounts at reputable financial institutions. This eliminates the risk of misuse. Retail clients of CMC Markets UK plc will have their funds kept in banks such as Natwest, Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC and Ulster Bank. Meanwhile, retail clients of CMC Markets Germany GmbH will have their funds kept in segregated accounts at Barclays Bank Ireland plc, Frankfurt Branch.
Since CMC Markets is a publicly-traded brokerage company, listed on the London Stock Exchange, it is obligated to report its financial results on a regular basis.
In addition, EU-based retail clients are covered by the Securities Trading Companies Compensation Scheme (EdW), while UK-based retail clients can take advantage of even better protection for their money from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in an event of broker failure.
Also, CMC Markets offers a valuable risk management tool such as negative balance protection, but only to its retail clientele located in the EU and the UK. In other words, client losses cannot exceed their initial deposit. If a negative balance occurs, CMC Markets will absorb that loss and will automatically restore the clients’ account balance back to zero. Negative balance protection is a useful risk management tool, particularly for novice traders.
Another risk management tool that CMC Markets’ clients can use to protect their active positions includes Guaranteed stop-loss orders (GSLOs). The Guaranteed stop-loss order sets an absolute limit on your potential losses, while also minimizing the risk of slippage. If you have made an incorrect prediction of market movement, your active position will be automatically closed by the broker’s trading software at the specified price level (regardless of market volatility or gapping). Note that the GSLO will incur a premium charge. In case the order is not triggered, CMC Markets will refund that premium in full. GSLOs can be used on both CFD trading and spread betting positions.
And finally, let us not forget to note that CMC Markets has received over 50 prestigious awards, recognizing the quality of its services. Those awards include Best Spread Betting Service for 2018 by Shares Awards, Financial Services Provider of the Year for 2018 by Shares Awards, Best Platform Features for 2018 by Investment Trends Australia Leverage Trading Report and Broker of the Year for Online Share Trading for the 11th year running in 2021 by Canstar.
Conclusion
Our team of experts at BestBrokers.com believes that CMC Markets may be a good choice of a Forex broker for novice traders because of:
- its strong industry regulation;
- its award-winning educational content;
- its no minimum deposit requirement;
- its exceptional customer support service;
- its risk management tools (including GSLOs and negative balance protection).
However, since the brokerage does not offer any ECN/STP account types, it may not suit the needs of traders who seek institutional grade pricing and execution.