Is AvaTrade Legal in US? Is it Safe?
Reliability is the key criterion for choosing any broker. If you have doubts about the reliability of a company, it is not recommended to work with it. Traders from US often ask “Is AvaTrade safe? Does the company operate legally in the territory of the country, can it be trusted?" Traders Union analysts have prepared a detailed analysis, where we will see whether AvaTrade is legal in US and whether you can work with this broker.
Short summary about the broker AvaTrade
AvaTrade was founded in 2006 in Dublin, Ireland. The company has offices in 10 countries. It currently has over 300, 000 registered users and processes more than 2 million transactions every month. These factors contribute to AvaTrade being a reliable and trusted broker. They are accredited across five continents and are one of the market leaders. The broker is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC, 406684), the Japanese FSA ( 1662), and the South African FSCA ( 45984). AvaTrade holds accreditation by the Central Irish Bank ( C53877 ), the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority (190018), and the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission ( SIBA/L/13/1049), CySEC ( 347/17). AvaTrade allows traders to trade stocks, securities, indices, cryptocurrencies, and currency pairs. In total, the offer more than 1,200 tools to customers.
| 💰 Account currency: | AUD, JPY, GBP, USD, EUR, CHF |
| 🚀 Minimum deposit: | 100$ |
| ⚖️ Leverage: | 1:30 to 1:400 |
| 💱 Spread: | From 0.9 to 3 p. |
| 🔧 Instruments: | Forex pairs, Cryptocurrencies, Commodities, Indices, Stocks, Bonds, Vanilla Options and ETFs |
| 💹 Margin Call / Stop Out: | 25% / 10% |
Pros and cons of AvaTrade
👍 Advantages of trading with AvaTrade:
•a wide range of trading instruments;
•there is a license for the provision of services on the territory of 5 continents;
•customer service operates around the clock and provides competent assistance to users in 14 languages;
•a wide choice of convenient trading platforms;
•ability to trade from mobile devices;
•availability of an account for representatives of Islam (swap-free);
•for reliable storage of customer funds, the broker uses a segregated account;
•option for automated trading using trading advisors, indicators, and other analysis tools;
•no restrictions on trade and scalping;
•availability of training materials and conducting webinars for beginners and experienced traders.
👎 Disadvantages of AvaTrade:
•the site interface is not user-friendly;
•customer service efficiency and response time
•trading terminals are prone to occasionally freeze.
What information should a broker disclose?
Only the broker that discloses all legal information can be considered reliable. You need to take notice of this factor when choosing the company.
The official website of the broker should contain the following information:
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The name of the legal entity.
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Country of registration.
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Number of the registration certificate.
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Legal address, factual addresses of the offices of the broker.
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License to conduct financial activity.
The information must be published either in a special section on the website of the broker or in the disclaimer. Make sure to check it.
The official website of the broker must also provide internal regulatory documents. Before you start working with a company, review Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, Risks Notice, and other documents.
Broker regulation
CYSEC
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) is the financial regulator authority of Cyprus. The regulator has the power to audit companies and issue licenses to conduct financial activities in the territory of the country.
Cyprus is an EU member and therefore the CySec license also allows companies to operate in the entire territory of the EU. Furthermore, the document issued by the regulator is considered reliable beyond the borders of the EU countries.
ASIC
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the official financial regulatory body of Australia. The commission regulates the operation of banks, investment companies, Forex brokers, and participants of exchange and over-the-counter trading.
ASIC is a reputable authority. The license of this regulator is recognized as reliable in the entire world. Brokers with licenses issued by ASIC also operate outside Australia, for example in the EU countries, the UK, Asia, etc.
FSCA
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority is the financial regulatory body of the Republic of South Africa. The regulator supervises the operation of financial organizations operating in South Africa and also issues licenses for such companies. FSCA also licenses Forex brokers.
FSCA licenses are issued not only for brokers that focus their operation in the RSA and in Africa. Companies that offer services in other regions of the world also operate under the licenses of the organization. Brokers that hold the license of this regulator can be considered reliable.
Is AvaTrade legal in US? Broker’s license
Security (Investors’ Protection)
Information
The activity of AvaTrade is regulated by 7 commissions: European CBI, Australian ASIC, South African FSCA, Japanese FSA and FFAJ, and the authorities of the British Virgin Islands B.V.I. FSC and CySEC.
To obtain accreditation from each of the regulatory authorities, it is necessary to follow clear regulations and comply with all the declared requirements for the provision of financial services.
The activity of AvaTrade fully complies with the criteria of regulators and the broker's regulations. Thanks to this, reliable legal relations between the company and consumers are ensured. The safety of financial assets is observed.
👍 Advantages
- Trading operations are conducted under clear regulations
- Relations between the broker and the trader are regulated by the agreement
- Regulation by 7 authorities allows a customer to submit a claim from any country
- Protection of customer funds using storage at segregated accounts
- Licenses and other regulating documents are freely available at the broker’s website
👎 Disadvantages
- Before the start of cooperation with the broker it is necessary to familiarize yourself with a lot of documents
- Claims from only major investors are accepted
Brokers that are similar to AvaTrade
In addition to license and reliability, you also need to take notice of the trading conditions of brokers. This is important both for beginners and experienced traders, as the demands of the clients with different experience differ. Traders Union analysts have prepared a comparison table of AvaTrade with similar brokers.
Comparison of AvaTrade with other Brokers
| AvaTrade | Eightcap | XM Group | RoboForex | Exness | TeleTrade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trading platform |
MT4, MobileTrading, AvaTrader, AvaOptions, AvaSocial, AVA Option, MT5 |
MT4, MT5, TradingView |
MT4, MT5, MobileTrading, XM App |
MT4, MT5, R MobileTrader, R StocksTrader, R WebTrader |
Exness Trade App (mobile), Exness Terminal (web), MetaTrader5, MetaTrader4 |
MT4, MT5 |
Min deposit |
$100 |
$100 |
$5 |
$10 |
$10 |
$10 |
Leverage |
From 1:200 |
From 1:30 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
From 1:1 |
Trust management |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Accrual of % on the balance |
No |
No |
No |
10.00%% |
No |
1.00%% |
Spread |
From 0.9 points |
From 0 points |
From 0.8 points |
From 0 points |
From 0 points |
From 0.2 points |
Level of margin call / stop out |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Execution of orders |
Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution, Instant Execution |
Market Execution |
No deposit bonus |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Cent accounts |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
AvaTrade is a brokerage company that provides optimal working conditions for all traders with any skill level. The broker provides customers with security by protecting their data and finances, and they are constantly working to improve the service.
Eightcap has favorable working conditions due to a large choice of instruments, tight spreads, high leverage, and no withdrawal fees. Integration with popular trading platforms and basic deposit/withdrawal options greatly facilitates work with the broker and reduces the entry threshold. In addition to comfortable conditions and low financial costs, traders get free educational materials and special services for technical analysis. A relative disadvantage is the absence of opportunities for passive income. Also, the broker works only with CFDs, so other groups of trading instruments are not available.
XM Broker is a broker for professional trading. Trading conditions correspond to the average market; there are technical advantages that distinguish XM Broker from its competitors.
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.
Exness broker is a trusted broker partner that is compliant with all relevant terms. Exness complies with all payment obligations and pays money earned.
TeleTrade is a broker for traders who value the variety of trading instruments and trade using their PC or a mobile app. The company is a good broker both for beginners and experienced traders.
Conclusions
Traders Union showed that AvaTrade is indeed very reliable and legal in US. The company holds all necessary licenses to conduct financial activity; it complies with all key requirements of the regulator. Legality of the broker’s operation in the country is one of the key criteria for choosing the company for trading. It is important to take this into consideration, as well as the trading conditions. In this case, we can say that the broker meets all the reliability requirements.
FAQ
Can I work with a broker who does not hold the license?
Trading with a broker without the license involves high risks. The license guarantees that the company performs its obligations. Working with a broker without the license creates a risk of manipulations with quotes, failure to pay, and other schemes.
Where can I complain if a broker with a license violated its obligations?
If a broker allows a violation of the conditions, you can appeal to the authority that issued the license and to the court.
How do I choose the best broker in US for beginners?
Novice traders need to consider the brokers with licenses issued in US or other European Union countries, availability of a demo account or cent account, the level of commissions and fees and minimum deposit, as well as educational materials.
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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.