Founded in 2001, ActivTrades is a global brand with multiple entities, including ActivTrades PLC, which is authorized and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and regulated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). The broker also has a Bahamas-based entity, ActivTrades Corp, authorized and regulated by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas.
ActivTrades offers the suite of MetaTrader platforms developed by MetaQuotes Software Corp, as well as its own ActivTrader web-based platform. The broker provides 47 forex pairs and CFDs on two metals, 15 indices, seven futures contracts, and 517 shares.
Is ActivTrades Safe?
ActivTrades is considered high-risk, with an overall Trust Score of 68 out of 99. ActivTrades is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. ActivTrades is authorised by one tier-1 regulator (high trust), zero tier-2 regulators (average trust), and one tier-3 regulator (low trust). ActivTrades is authorised by the following tier-1 regulators: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Learn more about Trust Score.
Regulations Comparison
| Feature | ActivTrades |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2001 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 1 |
| Trust Score | 68 |
Offering of Investments
The following table summarizes the different investment products available to ActiveTrades' clients.
| Feature | ActivTrades |
|---|---|
| Forex: Spot Trading | Yes |
| Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs) | 47 |
| CFDs - Total Offered | 541 |
| Social Trading / Copy-Trading | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency traded as actual | No |
| Cryptocurrency traded as CFD | Yes |
Commissions & Fees
Regarding commissions and fees, ActivTrades lists an average spread of 0.9 pips in the EUR/USD pair, applicable to all its platforms, including professional account status.
ActivTrades also charges a minimum one euro commission for its share-trading service in Europe, and while its market data is free, it is not offered in real time in MetaTrader 5 (MT5). For US market data (including international ADRs and ETFs) the broker charges just one euro per month, in addition to a minimum commission per trade.
The forex spreads on offer by ActivTrades are not great, and I found it ironic that the broker doesn’t have an Active Trader program (in terms of offering liquidity rebates, spread discounts, or other VIP-style accounts to high-volume “active” traders).
| Feature | ActivTrades |
|---|---|
| Minimum Initial Deposit | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.63 (as of May 2019) |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No |
Research
ActivTrades provides an array of research tools, including periodic reports in its Active Trade analyses and market analysis on its blog.
The broker also has a suite of tools related to MetaTrader, including its Smart pattern and Smart forecast custom indicators, as well as an expert advisor-powered SmartOrder 2 module that enhances the MetaTrader experience with additional order types.
ActivTrades has a hefty range of MetaTrader-related tools, while the broker is not as heavily weighted in its other forms of research content on its site.
| Feature | ActivTrades |
|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
| Weekly Webinars | No |
| AutoChartist | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No |
| Delkos Research | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
Platforms & Tools
ActivTrades is primarily a MetaTrader broker that offers the suite of platforms developed by MetaQuotes Software Corporation, including the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platform.
While MT4 comes standard, with little variation in functionality from broker to broker, there can be significant differences in how the platform is set up for trading spreads and commissions, execution, and other tools, features, and administrative areas.
Besides spreads, the range of instruments, and account types, here is a summary of the differences in features between ActivTrades’ MT4 offering and the default MetaTrader experience:
- Offers the SMART forecast and template indicators
- Offers SmartOrder 2 Expert Advisor module
- Economic calendar in MT5
- No Economic calendar in MT4
- News streams from Dow Jones newswire
ActivTrades also provides the ActivTrader platform, a responsive web-based app with a very simple layout and user-friendly interface.
While the default charts in ActivTrader were unimpressive, I quickly switched to the more advanced charting option powered by Trading View.
The watch list didn’t include any favorites button, although it was nice to see the sentiment indicator below each instrument. Beyond the charts, watch list, and open positions/orders section, the platform does not offer traders a wide variety of trading information and options.
| Feature | ActivTrades |
|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy-Trading | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| cTrader | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 51 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 31 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 |
| Order Type - Trailing Stop | Yes |
Mobile Trading
ActivTrades offers iOS and Android mobile trading applications for its MetaTrader platforms, available directly from the developers on the iTunes Store and Google Play.
| Feature | ActivTrades |
|---|---|
| Android App | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Trading - Forex | Yes |
| Trading - CFDs | Yes |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes |
| Watch List | Yes |
| Watch List Syncing | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 |
| Charting - Draw Trend Lines | Yes |
| Charting - Trend Lines Moveable | No |
| Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes |
| Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes |
| Forex Calendar | No |
Other Notes
In August 2018, ActivTrades announced it had received ISO27001 certification from the International Standards Organization (ISO) related to the effectiveness of its internal controls in handling clients’ funds.
Final Thoughts
Acquiring additional licenses outside of the EU and being in business since 2001 helps support ActivTrades’ Trust Score on ForexBrokers.com. The broker has a robust MetaTrader offering with its suite of indicators and related plugins.
While the broker may lack some classical research components, including offerings from third party providers, its MetaTrader-related tools help justify its trading costs with average spreads of 0.9 pips on the EUR/USD.
Finally, the addition of insurance of up to £1 million, in excess of what is provided to eligible traders by the UK’s regulator, for extraordinary events such as the firm’s insolvency, is applicable only to clients of the firm’s UK entity.
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Forex Risk Disclaimer
"There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses.