Review Summary
AvaTrade was created in 2006. It operates globally and offers traders the opportunity to trade in CFDs and the forex market. Various top-tier regulators such as the Australian Securities Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Central Bank of Ireland regulate the platform. It is a reputable and safe exchange, which has always been in the good books of regulators. Newbies can open an account on this platform for just $100. The brokers committed to trader education and this should get them up to speed quite fast. There are various free courses, market analysis, and videos to help newbies understand capital markets.
Fees
To trade the benchmark EUR/USD currency pair, the average round trip cost is 1.3 pips. On average, AvaTrade offers better round trip fees for CFD instruments that the market average. For instance, individual shares and stocks are subjected to a spread of 0.13% of the nominal trade value. The platform is also quite transparent about its overnight financing rats. On AvaTrade, you will be charged a $50 fee for inactivity per quarter. However, the account must have begun actively trading for at least three months for the fee to apply. There are no additional withdrawal fees, which is common with most other brokerages. In general, the fees on AvaTrade are competitive for those who meet the minimum deposit requirements and those that deposit large amounts.
Regulation and Fund security
AvaTrade is regulated by a wide array of regulators globally. Some of the top regulators of this platform are Ireland, under registration number C53877, Australia, under registration number 406684, South Africa, Japan, and the British Virgin Islands. AvaTrade operates under two different legal entities that have slight differences in their account offerings:
- Ava Trade Ltd
This legal entity offers the AvaTrade Options Account and the AvaTrade Standard Account. You are able to trade CFDs, FX, and FX Options.
- Ava Trade EU Ltd
Under this entity, you are offered an AvaTrade Professional Account, an AvaTrade Retail Account, an AvaTrade Spread Betting Account, and the AvaTRade Options Account. You are able to trade in CFDs, FX, Spread Betting, and FX.
With both entities, you are able to access the same markets, trading platforms, and negative balance protection. However, traders in the EU enjoy the protection of an insured fund. For the non-EU accounts, there more leverage offered.
Account Types
On AvaTRade, you have access to these accounts:
- Live Trading Account
- Islamic Account
- Demo Account
To open a live trading account you need to make a deposit in EUR, USD, AUD, or GBP, the AUD deposits are only offered to those in Australia while GBP is only offered to UK citizens. The demo account operates in the same way as a live account. In the demo account, you can only operate for 21 days. However, you can always contact support for an extension of the demo trading.
Investment Products/Trading instruments
There are over 1250 assets offered to traders on AvaTrade. They are offers as CFDs and they include indices, commodities, crypto, ETFs, Bonds, Forex, and FX Options. Some of the most popular stocks traded on the platform include Apple, Amazon, and Berkshire Hathaway. The most popular currency pairs are EUR/JPY, USD/EUR, Bitcoin, and VIX ETF. While not all public stocks are traded here, you will find some of the most popular companies, funds, and currency pairs. If you would like to trade cryptocurrencies, you will find options such as Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Ripple.
Trading Platforms
AvaTrade utilizes the MT4 and the MT5 platform for all accounts except the Options Account. For an Options Account, you will have to use Ava Options. The MT4 and MT5 platforms are offered on all mobile devices and desktop operating systems on apps and the web. Most users prefer to use the app version on their PC since they feel it has fewer glitches.
The MT4 platform remains the gold stand for retail CFD and forex trading platforms. This is despite the fact that it no longer offers technical support for MetaQuotes. It is quite easy to use and looks and feels just like the MT5 platform.
Ava Options is a proprietary platform created by AvaTrade for options trading. The trading options are offered for currency pairs and gold. While options trading can be complex, AVaTrade has simplified the process via this platform. It comes with 13 default strategies for options trading, which makes it easy to structure trades with just a button. There are also advanced tools for risk management. Customer Support
Webinar, seminars, educational material
The platform’s educational offering is quite solid. In the education section, there is a section labeled “trading for beginners.” It contains various articles designed to help newbies understand the basic concepts of trading in the capital markets. Users will get a clear understanding of what it takes to trade in CFDs and forex.
The platform is quite serious about trader education. They have gone a step further and created a trading academy dubbed “Sharp Trader.” The academy is a restricted and exclusive club that can only be accessed by registered members. In the academy, you will have access to:
- Education videos covering various topics
- Fundamental and technical analysis that is provided daily for major currency pairs, which is written by experts working for AvaTrade
- Various trading tools
- Analytical vides
In general, Sharp Trader is a well-rounded academy that is designed to help anyone understand CFDs and the forex market.
In the educational section, you can access other materials such as over 50 free videos, a free eBook, and an extensive glossary of important releases of economic data and order types. The latter two are important since most new traders can easily misunderstand them.
Customer Support
AvaTrade customer support has a solid reputation. Customer support is offered in 15 languages. You can access customer support 24 hours a day on weekdays. You can get in touch with a representative of AvaTrade in various international locations via phone and email. There is also a live chat feature.
Active Bonus and Promotions
In the EU, EU laws prohibit bonuses and promotions. As such, bonuses and promotions can only be accessed for those trading out the EU. In regions outside the EU, AvaTrade offers a welcome bonus of about 20%. There does not appear to be a cap on the bonus for any deposit amount.
However, you should note that such a bonus would usually come with terms and conditions. For instance, you must trade a very large quantity before you are allowed to withdraw the deposit amount.
How to open an account
Opening an account is quite easy. Simply click on the big orange button on the home screen labeled “Register Now.” You will be asked to provide some personal details and from there you can fund the account and begin trading. Traders should be able to start trading on the same day you open your account.
It is worth noting that once you set up the base currency during set up, you cannot change it. However, you are allowed to add another account with a different base pair in the future. The base currencies allowed on AvaTrade are EUR, USD, AUD, and GBP. This platform is not regulated in the US and does not accept US customers.
You are required to upload various documents such as a colored copy of your ID, license, or passport. Additionally, you need to submit a utility bill to verify your address. The bill has to be dated within the last six months. There is the option to open a corporate account but these accounts require more documents.
Conclusion
AvaTrade is a great platform overall. It comes with reasonable and competitive fees for traders, especially when trading the shares and individual stocks wrapped as CFDs. There is a diverse range of assets available for trading, which makes this a great platform for traders seeking to diversify their investments. It has a rock-solid reputation globally.
