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Alchemymarkets.com AlchemyMarkets (Alchemy Markets Limited) - broker review
Broker name: alchemymarkets .com (Alchemy Markets Limited)
Server name: AlchemyMarkets
Evaluation is given 1-10 (10 very good):
The total value of the spread for daily trading in comparison with competitors: 8
Spread stability during the day: 9
Spreads during strong market movements (strong volatility): 9
The possibility of trading scalping: yes
The possibility of trading with middle and long term period only: yes
Weekend Spreads: 7
Bitcoin trading possibilities: yes
Overall rating: 8,25
Results of spreads stability rating according pictures:
YOUTUBE REAL TIME VIDEO FOREX MT4 TRADING
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Alchemy Markets is a trading name of GBE Capital (a company registered in England and Wales under number 08698974). GBE capital is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, registration No 612233.
Our mission is to provide retail and institutional clients around the world with an exceptional trading environment and empower them to reach their full potential.
Built by traders for traders, our team members have trading experience that spans back to the 80s and have successfully traded on all major financial markets from Asia to North America.
Alchemy Markets is a FCA-licensed, UK-based broker, offering trading in forex and CFDs with the MetaTrader4 platform. You can learn more about the trading conditions with the broker and the regulatory requirements it has to meet in the following review.
Alchemy Markets Advantages
FCA license
Alchemy Markets is a trading name of GBE Capital limited, a company authorized and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The sound regulation gives the broker sufficient credibility to be trusted by traders.
All FCA-licensed brokerages are required to hold net tangible assets amounting to at least 730 000 EUR and are obliged to adhere to a number of standards and procedures, for instance, to hold clients` money in segregated accounts, to report clients’ transactions on a regular basis. What is more, FCA-regulated companies fall under Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which protects consumers up to £50,000 per person.
As an added safeguard, UK brokers are required to provide Negative Balance Protection and will credit your account to a zero balance if your account goes into negative as a result of trading activity. Actually, this requirement is introduced on a EU level, but it is probable that it will remain in force, along with the restrictions on leverage and other measures imposed by ESMA in 2018, even after the UK leaves the Union.
MT4 offered, low spreads
As it already became clear, Alchemy Markets allows you to access the global financial markets via MetaTrader4 (MT4). The MT4 is highly regarded by the online trading community mostly because it is very stable platform and allows users to fully automate their trades by choosing from a wide range of automated trading bots (Expert Advisors). What is more, it offers top-notch charting with a number of technical indicators, extensive back-testing environment and customization options. Besides, the MT4 is available in all forms and shapes – as a desktop download, web version, and mobile apps
When we tested Alchemy Markets’ demo MT4, we found the spreads in line with the ones announced on the broker’s website, and quite low. The benchmark EUR/USD spread is floating around 0.7 – 0.8 pips, and no commission fee applies.
Many financial instruments available
Alchemy Markets provides its clients with a wide range of trading instruments including CFDs on currency pairs, stock indices, crude oil, precious metals, bonds and some of the most popular cryptocurrencies. This allows for portfolio diversifications and better risk management.
Alchemy Markets Disadvantages
Has an offshore entity
It seems that this brokerage group also includes an offshore entity, registered offshore, in Belize.
This is an offshore zone with lax tax regime and just as lax oversight over local forex brokers. With no strict regulatory oversight, we can’t be certain about the company behind the operation and whether it will fulfill its obligations towards clients. So, if you are opening an account with Alchemy Markets, make sure you are contracting the FCA-licensed entity, GBE Capital limited.
Excessive minimum deposit requirements
With Alchemy Markets you can open a Classic Account with 5 000 GBP or EUR, an Premier Account with 10 000 GBP or EUR, which is quite excessive in our view. Most forex brokers require an initial investment of $100 - $250 as a start, and some go even lower. For example, leading UK CFDs and spread betting provider IG, has not set any minimum initial deposit requirement.
Leverage capped at 1:30
This broker says to offer leverage up to 1:30 to retail clients, in line with ESMA’s guidelines. This, of course, would be insufficient for more aggressive traders. Nonetheless, on the demo account, we were offered leverage as high as 1:1000.
Conclusion
Alchemy Markets is a UK-based forex and CFD broker that offers competitive spreads on the industry’s standard MT4 platform. Overall, it seems like a good trading partner, but before signing up, make sure you are contracting the entity licensed in the UK, as the broker also appears to operate offshore.