Is ActivTrades Regulated? Is it safe? - TU Expert review
License is the most important document you have to consider when choosing a broker. Many traders, who would like to start working with ActivTrades try to check whether it is regulated. Traders Union experts have already done that. In this article, you will learn whether ActivTrades is regulated, what regulatory authorities supervise the broker and whether it is safe to work with the company in general.
Short summary about the broker ActivTrades
The ActivTrades broker has been operating since 2001. The company allows clients to trade on the Forex market, CFDs on stocks, ETFs, and other instruments. In total, the broker has six types of assets available. ActivTrades is headquartered in London, with additional offices in Milan, Sofia, and Nassau. The company operates under two licenses, the UK (FCA, 434413), the Bahamas (SCB), the CSSF (Luxembourg) and CONSOB (Italy). During its tenure, the broker has received 26 awards.
| 💰 Account currency: | EUR, USD, GBP, CHF |
|---|---|
| 🚀 Minimum deposit: | 0$ |
| ⚖️ Leverage: | Up to 1:30 for Individual, up to 1:400 for Professional |
| 💱 Spread: | From 0.5 pips |
| 🔧 Instruments: | Currency pairs (48), CFDs on stocks (660), ETFs (500), indices (27), commodities (15), bonds (5) |
| 💹 Margin Call / Stop Out: | 100%/50% |
Pros and cons of ActivTrades
👍 Advantages of trading with ActivTrades:
•1000+ trading instruments.
•UK regulated (FCA).
•Top-notch training.
•Spreads from 0.5 pips.
•Deposit insurance up to $1 million.
👎 Disadvantages of ActivTrades:
•No PAMM or social trading.
•Not authorized to trade real stocks.
•24/5 support
Why is it important to work with a regulated broker?
License is a document that certifies that a broker operates legally and guarantees fulfillment of its obligations to the traders. A financial license is issued by a financial regulatory authority of a country (the National Bank) or a specialized authority (for example, Securities Commission, Futures Trading Commission, etc.). It is important to choose licensed brokers for the following reasons:
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A license guarantees that the broker operates in compliance with the rules of the financial regulator that issued the document.
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In order to obtain the license, a broker must comply with certain requirements, for example, the size of the authorized capital or personnel qualification. It is simply not lucrative for scammers to comply with such requirements.
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A broker’s license provides access to real markets, and you can be sure that the quotes are real and up-to-date.
The best option is to work with a broker that holds the license of the jurisdiction, where the trader resides. You can also choose a company with a financial license of another reliable jurisdiction, for example, the U.S. or the European Union.
Is ActivTrades Regulated? Broker’s license
Security (Protection for Investors)
ActivTrades has four representative offices that are in the following countries:
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Great Britain (head office);
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Italy;
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Bulgaria;
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Luxembourg;
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The Bahamas.
The broker operates based on two licenses. Brokerage services in the UK and the European Union are provided by the company based on the permission of the British regulator FCA. The financial activity authorization number is FCA No. 434413. The broker provides services in other jurisdictions based on the license of the regulator of the Bahamas (SCB). The license number is SCB # 199667. The broker has negative balance protection and all customer funds are held in segregated accounts.
👍 Advantages
- Client funds are segregated from ActivTrades capital and held in segregated bank accounts
- Negative balance protection and deposit insurance are at your elbow
- In case of violation by the broker of the obligations prescribed in the offer, the client can file a complaint with the regulator
👎 Disadvantages
- To open an account, you must provide detailed financial information
- Without verification, you cannot make a deposit or withdraw funds
Brokerage fees
Broker’s regulation is the most important choice criterion. However, before you start working with the broker, it is also important to analyze its commissions and fees. TU analysts have studied the commissions and fees charged by ActivTrades, which you can see below.
Traders Union specialists have analyzed the fees of the ActivTrades broker for you. The type of fee depends on the trading instrument you are working with. ActivTrades uses two types of fees. The spread is applied for all types of trading instruments, except for CFDs on shares. The spread is floating. The minimum spread for EUR/USD is 0.5 pips. The fixed fee per trade applies only for CFDs on shares and only for traders who have opened an Individual account. It varies depending on the market in which you work — from 0.05% of a deal on European exchanges (min 1 EUR) and 0.02 USD per lot (min 1 USD) on NYSE (USA). On top of the non-trading fees, the broker has an inactivity fee. Its size is 10 USD (or equivalent) per month after 12 months without any newly opened transactions. Also, the broker has a fee for withdrawing funds by bank transfer.
| Account type | Spread (minimum value) | Withdrawal commission |
| Individual | From $5 | Yes |
| Professional | From $5 | Yes |
Brokers that are similar to ActivTrades
Many brokers operate legally, obtaining relevant licenses and permissions. However, when choosing a broker, it is important to compare their trading conditions. TU experts have prepared a comparative analysis of ActivTrades conditions with its closest competitors.
Comparison of ActivTrades with other Brokers
| ActivTrades | RoboForex | Pocket Option | Exness | FxPro | FreshForex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trading platform |
MT4, MobileTrading, MT5 |
MT4, MT5, R MobileTrader, R StocksTrader, R WebTrader |
Pocket Option, MT5, MT4 |
Exness Trade App (mobile), Exness Terminal (web), MetaTrader5, MetaTrader4 |
MT4, MobileTrading, MT5, cTrader, FxPro Edge |
MT4, MobileTrading |
Min deposit |
No |
$10 |
$5 |
$10 |
$100 |
No |
Leverage |
From 1:30 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
Trust management |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Accrual of % on the balance |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Spread |
From 0.5 points |
From 0 points |
From 1.2 point |
From 1 point |
From 0 points |
From 0 points |
Level of margin call / stop out |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Execution of orders |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
No deposit bonus |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
$30 |
Cent accounts |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
ActivTrades is a CFD and Forex broker that is aimed at traders from the UK, Europe, CIS, Asia, and South America.
The minimum deposit in RoboForex is $10. Leverage up to 1:2000. Traders choose RoboForex for reliability, favorable trading conditions, minimum spreads, and commission fees. The company is recommended for beginner traders and experienced investors.
Pocket Option offers a wide range of trading instruments and copy trading services. It constantly improves its service quality and expands the list of assets and trading platforms. The broker is suitable even for novice traders without significant capital due to the low initial deposit. Experienced traders who work with CFDs and binary options can also use Pocket Option’s services.
Exness broker is a trusted broker partner that is compliant with all relevant terms. Exness complies with all payment obligations and pays money earned.
FxPro is a reliable broker company that offers market access to all traders, regardless of their level of knowledge and experience. Broker's clients are protected from negative balance; their activities are carried out in comfortable conditions and with competent professional support.
FreshForex is a reliable Forex broker providing a standard set of trading tools. The company is a good option for traders of all levels, from beginner to professional traders. It is mid-range in terms of size and number of registered traders and they are reliable based on our research and analysis.
Conclusions
ActivTrades is a quite reliable broker for trading. ActivTrades operates on the license of a reliable jurisdiction and its operation is regularly monitored. However, the company does not offer the best trading conditions compared to competitors. You can choose this broker and not worry about the safety of your funds, but there are better options in terms of trading conditions.
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FAQ
How difficult is it to obtain a brokerage license?
The procedure for obtaining a license differs depending on the jurisdiction, but it is very difficult and expensive to get the document in a reliable jurisdiction. This is why only reliable brokers obtain licenses.
Why is it not recommended to work with offshore brokers?
Offshore brokers have to meet minimum requirements for obtaining a license and reporting, which is why often scammers get such licenses.
Can an offshore broker be reliable?
Yes, although there are not many of such brokers. There are brokers with a good reputation, but with an offshore license. You still need to be very cautious when working with such companies.
How do I check a broker’s reputation?
In order to check a broker’s reputation, you need to read user reviews. However, it is recommended to only use independent websites for that.
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Team that worked on the article
Mikhail Vnuchkov joined Traders Union as an author in 2020. He began his professional career as a journalist-observer at a small online financial publication, where he covered global economic events and discussed their impact on the segment of financial investment, including investor income. With five years of experience in finance, Mikhail joined Traders Union team, where he is in charge of forming the pool of latest news for traders, who trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex instruments and fixed income.
Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.