EASY-FOREX – A Quick Review

This broker is one of the rare few who have managed to establish quite a name for themselves on an international scale. It has one of the longest lists of clients, is affiliated with the largest financial institutions in the world and offers some truly unique features. It looks so professional to the point that it almost appears unapproachable and unfriendly, particularly to newbies in the trading game. That's not entirely true.

Unlike most other brokers in the field, this broker doesn't offer a Demo account that allows you to do some practice trading for free and without strings attached. Its nearest equivalent is a Mini account, which works more like a standard account on a smaller scale. Opening a Mini account with this broker takes a minimum initial deposit of at least US$50, but also gives you the chance to work with a real professional trader who will mentor you one on one for some time.

Whereas other traders offer either an online or a downloadable application for you to use as a trading platform, this broker gives you both. There's an online platform that gives you a small range of currency pairs and commodities for trade, while the downloadable platform gives you the full range of tradable currencies and commodities.

Of special note are the trading tools you'll get with this broker, because they're unlike anything you're likely to have seen from other brokers. There is, for example, a sneak peek behind the trading curtains, which will show you how some of the more established traders are handling their forex transactions and other trades on the market. And then there's the freeze feature, which allows you to freeze a particular price or exchange rate and then open a transaction, even if the real price or exchange rate had already moved a few seconds earlier. This broker isn't exactly the easiest to join, but it definitely ranks one of the highest in terms of user experience.

Basic Program Features:

Demo Trading: Not available; in lieu of a Demo account, you will have to register for a Mini account that requires a smaller initial investment and features a few learning sessions with a professional trader Rating:

Initial Investment: Varies depending on account type; accounts also differ in terms of benefits and conditions, with higher level accounts enjoying more privileges. Rating:

Mini accounts require an initial deposit of at least US$50; includes trading practice sessions with a professional trader

Gold accounts require an initial deposit of at least US$500

Platinum accounts require an initial deposit of at least US$2,500

VIP accounts require an initial deposit of at least US$5,000

Deposit/Withdrawal Options: Credit cards for initial deposit; bank to bank transfer, credit cards and PayPal for all later transactions. Deposits and withdrawals do not have any corresponding surcharges Rating:

Spread: Varies depending on the account, but is in general higher than the usual spreads. Gold, Platinum and VIP accounts have spreads of 5, 4 and 3 pips, respectively; Mini accounts have spreads set at 7 pips. Rating:

Leverage: Varies depending on the type of account; each account type is required to open transactions with a minimal volume, so you're implicitly committed to using a particular leverage in order to meet that volume quota. Mini accounts, for example, must transact with at least $2,500, meaning a leverage set at least at 1:50. Gold and Platinum accounts must leverage at least with 1:100 to meet their minimums, while VIP accounts get a leverage of at least 1:200 Rating:

Stop Point: There is a guaranteed stop point set by the broker, but this is not applicable for all market conditions

Interest: Not calculated, but you must pay a particular commission that varies with the type of account. You're also required to pay a rollover commission whenever any of your open transactions stretch into the next trading day.

Regulation: Under active regulation of the Australian Financial Service in Australia, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission in the European Union and the National Futures Association (NFA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the United States Rating:

User Tools ('Higher' accounts get more tools and greater priority)

Customer/Technical Support: Available 24/7; no guarantee that operators will be available

Literature and Learning Materials: Financial journals, international financial news, beginners' and advanced learning courses, daily market reviews, a financial dictionary and a trading guide eBook are all available with the broker. Chats and one-on-one practice with a professional trader are also available.

Range of Tradable Currencies: 18 currency pairs for the online platform, over 90 pairs for the standard downloadable platform. This broker also offers 3 different commodities for trade on either platform.

Language Support: Full support for 9 languages

Software Platform: Web-based platform is compatible with all modern Internet browsers; client-side platform is a proprietary application compatible with Windows 98 and newer

Others: SMS notification of trade alerts; transactions may be conducted via mobile phone

User-Friendliness Rating:

Trading using the web-based application is easy enough, albeit a little too simple. Although you'll be able to do basic tasks like buying and selling, don't expect much in the way of analytical tools from the online interface. It's good only for placing a quick order – perhaps without having to open the client-side application or on another computer, for example – and little else.

Fortunately, the client-side program that can be downloaded from the broker's website has a much richer suite of features in addition to a larger range of currencies available for trade. All of the broker's tools – the more exotic ones, in particular – are all available on the client-side interface. You will, however, have to register and log in before being given the download link for the proprietary software.

Advantages

This broker gives you the option to start small with a Mini account, which doesn't require much in the way of financial commitment; few people would find US$50 to be a significant investment. For those who are completely un-initiated to the ways of forex trading, though, this imposed minimum and lack of a Demo account may seem rather harsh.

Yet this broker also has a lot to offer for traders who already know something about the game but would like to learn more. The insider's look at how professional traders operate can be an invaluable resource on how the real major players on the market do their deals. Besides, it's not a feature you'd find with a lot of other brokers. At the same time, this broker's apparent liking for one-on-one training should prove productive for budding forex and commodity traders.

Disadvantages

This broker is definitely not for the faint of heart, nor for those who are still having second thoughts about going into trading seriously. The high cost of buying into the broker's program will be sure to already turn off most beginning traders.

Even for seasoned traders, though, this broker is clearly more expensive than much of its competition. Aside from the leverage requirements, which could potentially strong-arm you into transactions that are way out of your depths, there's also the commission system that includes a rollover policy. The spreads are much higher than what you'd typically find with other brokers, and will be sure to drive away some older traders who are looking for competitive spreads.

Although this broker offers a web-based trading platform, it doesn't offer you much in terms of features and functionality. In fact, it's quite crippled because of its severe lack of features and tools. If you'd like to go into real live trading by any measure, you'll likely be forced to just download the client-side program anyway to get the full range of features.

Overall Score: 4/5