Our Methodology for Evaluation of Brokers: Traders Union

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The Traders Union's main goal for evaluating the activities of Forex brokers is to provide its member traders with independent and unbiased information about each broker actively operating in the Forex market. They apply a uniform set of evaluation criteria to all brokers to ensure that a true comparison can be made. This allows brokers to rank in order in which they meet strict evaluation methods.

The Traders Union is proudly the number one independent expert on the Forex market for analyzing brokers because we have access to the best data, that is, our trader's experience. In addition to our team of expert analysts, we have access to every broker’s internal data through hundreds of thousands of traders participating in the Traders Union. By listening to our traders and placing value on their experience we can provide insight into information such as customer outflow, share allocation in certain geographical markets between brokers.

No other evaluation system can objectively be compared with the Traders Union analysis, that is why our rating of Forex brokers is considered the most reliable in the market.

Evaluation system of Traders Union

What criteria apply to our Broker Evaluation?

For over 10 years the Traders Union has consistently worked to improve its Evaluation Methodology as we continue to identify areas for improvement. Our evaluation is based on a unique algorithm that is adaptable to the ever-changing landscape of the Forex Market as well as the number of brokers we evaluate. The following procedures make up our evaluation process:
  1. 1
    Analyze each broker against over 100 standard evaluation criteria across five basic categories (more details below).
  2. 2
    Check 30 additional internal parameters based on information from the trader experience.
  3. 3
    Carry out the regular audit by our experts on the trading platform using real trading.
  4. 4
    Broker test drives - from personal account registration to the withdrawal of earned profit.
  5. 5
    Collection of customer reviews of brokers and their analysis.

The Main Categories of checking Forex brokers

Each broker is subject to a mandatory audit, which is grouped into the following categories:
Category Number of criteria What category shows
Financial 38 Broker’s solvency, trade growth or decline, economic status of the company
Reliability 27 The level of trust in the broker, the reputation of the company, customer satisfaction
Safety 18 The level of security of funds in the broker's accounts, the availability of a license and regulation
Trading conditions 15 Compliance of the declared broker’s trading conditions with real
Service work 9 The level of quality of technical and customer support in the company

Additional Categories for Evaluation

These categories are used in evaluating the activities of Forex brokers and affect the final result of their checking:

The level of comfort working with a broker.

The criteria: the speed of the site, the convenience of the interface, the availability of basic information about the broker in the public access, the speed of registration on the site, the speed of opening an account, open access for downloading the trading platform, detailing the characteristics of the types of accounts, specification of contracts, etc.
The total score for this category demonstrates the level of transparency of the broker. It provides information about the reliability of the company and its openness to customers.

An opportunity to learn the basics of the Forex market.

The criteria: the availability of special educational sections, webinars, educational videos, instructions, the availability of demo accounts in the list of accounts, support for novice traders in trading, etc.
A comprehensive analysis of these criteria allows you to determine the broker’s interest in teaching beginnerForex traders, developing their professional level, and establishing the broker's true intentions.

The ability to start trading with a minimum deposit or without investment.

The criteria: the availability of no deposit bonuses, accrual for the first replenishment of the account and the subsequent ones, holding contests and competitions of traders with cash prizes, holding permanent and temporary promotions, the availability of special offers and VIP programs.
These criteria demonstrate the broker's loyalty to both small and large investors and also show the broker's overall customer focus.

Level of customer information support.

The criteria: the availability of staff of analysts in a company, the frequency of publishing author’s analytics, the frequency of publishing important economic and broker’s news, the availability of its own YouTube channel: the frequency of publications on a channel and the availability of market video reviews, mail-out to customers about important market events or changes in broker’s trading schedule.
The total score of these criteria also demonstrates the broker's customer focus and the level of quality of its service in comparison with competitors.

How is the analysis of the results obtained?

To derive a common assessment score for each broker, our team of experts at the Traders Union analytical department created a unique automatic script (program) into which they drive all the collected data into categories, and produces the unbiased final score, resulting in the broker place in our unique rating system.
How is the analysis of the results obtained?
We would love to hear any questions or have any suggestions for optimizing the current algorithm, please send an email to support@tradersunion.com.

FAQs

How many people are working on checking the performance of brokerage companies and forming a rating of Forex brokers?

The staff of the analytical department of the Traders Union has 15 employees who, based on the results of each reporting period, inspect companies, and form the current rating of Forex brokers.

How long does it take to calculate results for one broker?

A detailed analysis of all categories of criteria for one broker takes three hours. We carry out this check regularly on more than 200 companies – this represents valuable time savings we are working hard to save you.

How often do brokers check and update the Traders Union rating?

This process is carried out regularly every month.

How is the broker's position influenced by the fact that it pays Traders Union or does not pay?

The amount of affiliate payments from a broker to the TradersUnion does not change the evaluation criterion therefore each result remains unbiased and independent. However, it is usually mirrored with the number of clients for each broker, and this is a significant indicator in the evaluation.