In this article, we report the relatively new broker Markets, which we have been asked to review. Markets.com is a broker regulated in Cyprus, which offers trading of CFDs to their customers.
We rate them as our other reviews on the following parameters:
- Security
- Product selection
- Trading platforms
- Trading costs
- Charting package
- Customer service
- Demo account
- Bonuses
About Markets
Markets.com is operated by Safecap Investments Limited (“Safecap”), which is regulated and approved by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (“CySEC”) under license number 092/08 and by the Financial Services Board (“FSB”) in South Africa. The holding company SafeCap Investments was founded in 2006 and took over its current form and title in 2009, with government approval for currency trading as granted in 2008.
You can trade the most popular markets like stocks, commodities, forex, and ETFs at Markets.
Security at Markets
Markets are licensed in Cyprus. Here you do not have as much security as you have with, for example, English brokers who are regulated by FCA.
However, CySEC has tightened up lately, so safety should be fairly okay. Markets’ customers are covered by the Cypriot Investors Guarantee Fund and are covered up to EUR 20,000 of one’s deposits.
An important factor in security is that they are not running with a so-called “negative account policy”, which means that the customer cannot lose more than the amount in the account. To many, this is an important factor, as a day trader often works with high gearing and thus takes great risks. This counts in our assessment that this kind of security is provided.
Products at Markets
Markets offer trading in the most popular products and cover the most important markets. Here’s what they offer trading in:
- Shares
- Commodities
- Forex
- Stock indices
- Bonds
- Indices
- ETFs
The need should be covered here for the majority of daytraders.
Trading platforms at Markets
Markets offer two trading platforms, their own web-based platform and Metatrader 4. We have chosen to review their own. The start page of the platform looks like this:
First impressions of the Markets.com platform is ok. However, I would like to say that the platform is very simple and not very flexible, but we will get more in depth with that in the section about the charting package. The design is simple and modern and the platform is reasonably easy to navigate in. Markets.com can of course also be accessed via smartphone and tablet.
Trading costs at Markets
Their spreads are some of the highest we’ve seen among the brokers we’ve reviewed so far.
Here are their spreads in the most popular markets:
- DAX: 1.5 points
- Dow Jones: 2 points
- EURUSD: 2 points
- EURGBP: 3 points
- AUDUSD: 3 points
- USDJPY: 3 points
- GBPUSD: 2 points
- Crude Oil: 3 points
- Gold: 7 points
Spread on oil is the only thing that is competitive. As a daytrader, trading costs are one of the most important factors, and they must be kept to a minimum. Markets.com is therefore not a good solution for the active daytrader.
The charting package as a work tool
The charting package on Markets is very simple and easy to navigate in. However, I would say that it is too simple. The platform is not very flexible and there is not much opportunity for personal customization. There are few drawing tools, so it’s a minus.
Another thing that’s annoying is that you cannot move the stop-loss and take-profit when you have a trade open. However, it appears on the graph as you can see below. One thing that is commonplace is that you can see sentiment for customers at Markets.com, that is, how they are positioned in the selected market.
You can either choose to visualize the price as a line graph, candlestick chart, or bar chart. Here I would also have liked that there were more options. However, they do have a fair range of indicators. Entering orders can be done using the buy and sell buttons. Below is a picture of the order window where you can see the order entry options. I notice that limit orders are found under “Advanced”, indicating that this really is a beginner platform.
Customer Service at Markets
Like most others, Markets has a support center where you can get an answer to most questions. In addition, you can contact them by phone and email. They are present 24/5, which is good and during that time you can always get a hold to their deal desk.
Demo account at Markets
They offer a demo account like most other brokers. At the demo account, you have the opportunity to test the platform and get used to the conditions. The demo account is not limited and you have it forever.
Offer at Markets
Markets offer a welcome award to new customers. We see this as a minus and it draws down in the review, as it is usually just for attracting new ignorant customers. In addition, it is very difficult to get this award realized.
Overall rating of Markets 
- Security – 3 points
- Product range – 4 points
- Trading platform – 3 points
- Trading costs – 2 points
- Charting package – 3 points
- Customer Service – 4 points
- Demo account – 5 points
- Bonus – 1 point.
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 5
Markets is clearly a beginner platform and it shines through both in their charting package and the high trading costs. The security could be better but is okay.
Comments on the review – what are your experiences with Markets?
We would like to receive comments with your own experiences from Markets.com, both good and bad. Thanks!
