Acetop – Great Forex Brokers Review

Acetop.uk in brief

Acetop is a trading name of Acetop Financial Limited, which was founded in 2016 and currently is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It is based in London and is a subsidiary of the Acetop Limited – one of the leading financial groups in the Asia-Pasific region. The company provides online spread betting and CFD trading on currency pairs, indices, and commodities through the world’s most trendy trading terminal – MetaTrader 4 (MT4). You can start trading by investing a minimum of GBP100.

Regulation

It is a good idea to check where the company is regulated. Acetop Financial Limited is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under registration number 767154. This license allows it to provide clients with financial products such as currency pairs, precious metals, commodities, and other derivatives. As a regulated company, it must maintain certain rules and obligations, offering its clients the highest security. Acetop ensures a high level of data protection and transaction security. It is obliged to segregate all its retail clients’ funds from its own funds. In addition, retail clients are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and if the company is unable to pay claims, customers can apply to this scheme for compensation.

Account Types

There are two main types of live accounts – Spread Bet account and CFD account.

Spead Bet account – Spread Betting is a tax-free way of trading on price movements of financial instruments such as currency pairs, commodities, and indices. You can speculate on whether the price of an asset will rise or fall by placing a bet according to your expectations. Then you will buy or sell a predetermined amount per pip/point for the chosen instrument (spread bet stake size). Your result will be calculated based on the number of pips/points the price has changed, multiplied by the stake amount. Under current UK tax law, spread betting is not subject to capital gains tax for UK residents. There is a warning that you can lose more than your initial deposit due to the leverage. The minimum initial deposit is GBP100/EUR150 and the base currency of the account can be GBP or EUR. The minimum stake size is GBP/EUR0.1 and the maximum stake size is GBP/EUR250.

CFD account – A contract for Difference is a derivative product that forms an agreement between you and the Acetop to exchange the difference between the opening price and closing price of a contract. Like spread betting, you can trade the same instruments benefitting from price fluctuations. Here you must enter the trading amount and your result is calculated by multiplying the amount by the difference between closing and opening prices. Unlike spread betting, taxes are usually due. The minimum initial deposit is GBP100/EUR150/USD150 and the base currency of the account can be GBP, EUR, and USD. Trading amount is measured in lots and the minimum trade size is 0.01 lots, while the maximum trade size is 50 lots.

Market Maker or STP brokerage?

Let us see what the legal documents show. The Best Execution Policy file informs that the company provides its financial products and services as a counterparty to clients and acts as a principal; Therefore, the company is the sole execution venue to client orders. This means that the company is a market maker. Being a market maker involves a conflict of interest because when the company executes orders, it keeps the risk to itself. Every loss for customers is a profit for the company.

The same file warns about slippage and explains that slippage is where the execution price is different from the price requested by the client due to market conditions and volatility. Slippage can occur on all types of orders including stop loss orders. Acetop claims it does not benefit from slippage and does not guarantee the execution of client orders at the price specified because of slippage. In other words, all orders are subject to slippage and stop loss orders are not guaranteed.

The Terms and Condition file informs that all retail investors are provided with Negative Balance Protection, which means that the liability of a retail investor is limited to funds already held in the account.

Fees

In addition to all the usual fees, such as spreads and rollovers, there also is an inactivity fee. The account will be considered inactive when there has been no activity on it for a consecutive period of 1 year or more. The company will then charge an inactivity fee of GBP10 (or its equivalent in another currency) per month until the account balance reaches zero.

Deposits and Withdrawals

Deposits can be made by bank transfer, credit/debit cards or by e-wallets such as Skrill and UnionPay. The minimum deposit is GBP100 and there are no fees on deposits. Money sent by bank transfer arrives within 1-5 business days, while any other method is almost immediate.

Withdrawals can be made in the same ways as deposits – bank transfer, credit/debit cards and electronic wallets. Funds will be returned back to their original source. Any additional funds (profits) will be transferred to a bank account in the name of the account holder. Withdrawals are processed in one working day and the transaction time is within 3-5 working days.

Trading Platforms

You can trade through one of the most innovative and powerful trading platforms global – MetaTrader 4 (MT4). It offers a wide range of advantages. You will be able to open multiple charts at the same time with many available timeframes and set plenty of technical indicators. You can automate your trading with the built-in expert advisors (EAs) to help you implement different strategies. MT4 also offers the ability to use hedges to help reduce the risk. The one-click trading option allows you to open positions quickly, ready to react immediately to market movements. The platform is also available as a mobile application for iPhone, Android phones and tablets.

Assets

Currency pairs – 35 currency pairs can be traded, including exotic ones. Spreads are floating and the minimum value for the EUR/USD pair is 1 pip, while for the GBP/USD pair it is 1.5 pips.

Indices – You can trade 10 of the major indices globally, such as DAX30 and UK100. The spread for the DAX30 starts at 1.5 points, while the one for the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (Wall Street 30) starts from 2 points.

Commodities – CFDs on 4 commodities are available. They are CFDs on Gold, Silver, Oil and Brent. The minimum spread for the Gold is USD0.40 and the one for the US Oil (WTI) is USD0.04.

Education

There is an educational section on the web page called Education. You can learn in detail about spread betting and CFDs trading. There is a section about the seminars, webinars, and upcoming events. However, there is a message that the company does not plan to have any of them in the foreseeable future.

Summary

Acetop is an FCA-regulated brokerage company, which acts as a market maker, regardless of the account you have – Spread Betting or CFD. You can trade currency pairs, commodities, and indices through the MT4 terminal, available as a desktop version and as a mobile app. You can deposit by bank wire, debit/credit cards, and e-wallets, starting with GBP100. Spreads are variable and the one for the EUR/USD pair starts at 1 pip.