ArgusFX.com briefly
The argusfx.com website is owned by Argus FX Ltd, which is a brand name of Argus FX. Argus FX Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and is a member of the International Association of Investment Firms Cyprus (ACIIF). The company started as part of Argus Stockbrokers in 2003 and today is an independent brokerage firm. Argus FX has designed their products around the belief that prime service needs to be driven forward and now strictly follows the Straight Through Processing (STP) approach offering its clients interbank liquidity, the company claims. Clients can trade more than 100 financial instruments with floating spreads through the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms. Trading during the news and scalping are allowed, the company says. Social trading is available as well.
Regulation
It is important to know if and where the company is regulated. ArgusFX Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC) under license number 334/17. It holds a cross-border license, authorizing the company to provide investment services internationally, following the provisions of the applicable regulation. Argus FX performs its services in accordance with the Markets in Financial Instruments European Directive (MiFID).
Account Types
There are two types of live trading accounts available that differ in the minimum deposit amount and the spread offered.
Standard STP account – There is no minimum deposit required here and the average spread for the EUR/USD pair is 1.8 pips (starting from 0.7 pips). Trading is commission free.
PRO STP account – It requires USD200 to open and the average spread for the EUR/USD pair is 0.3 pips (starting from 0 pips). There are commissions that depend on the amount deposited. If you fund your PRO STP account with USD200, then your commission will be USD15 per lot. If you deposit at least USD2,000 in your PRO STP account, you will be charged a commission of USD10 per lot.
Keep in mind that all profits and losses here are real.
Market Maker or STP Broker?
The Terms and Conditions file shows that the company will enter into transactions with the client as principal (counterparty) and not as an agent; even though the company may transmit the client’s order to the liquidity provider(s) for execution, due to risk parameters (i.e. clients with high volume, big equity, etc.), the company will still be the contractually counterparty to the client. Being a counterparty to each client order Argus FX acts as a market maker. Although the Order Execution Policy document shows that Argus FX uses the Straight Through Processing (STP) model to execute orders, it does not declare that 100% of client orders will be transmitted to the execution venues (IS Prime Limited and Interactive Brokers LLC). This means that despite the use of the STP model, Argus FX can act as a market maker when it deems fit. The majority of customer orders are executed without conflict of interest, through the STP model, but there is an opportunity for the company to keep the risk to itself and not to transfer part of the orders. In this case, the conflict of interest exists.
The Terms and Conditions document also explains that all clients’ orders (including stop loss orders) are executed at the current available market price. However, during periods of volatile market conditions, during news announcements, on opening gaps (trading session starts), or on possible gaps where the underlying instrument has been suspended or restricted on a particular market, client’s orders (Buy Limit, Buy Stop, Sell Limit, Sell Stop, Stop Loss and/or Take Profit) are executed at the next available market price. While this price might have significant deviation from the client’s declared price, the result can be either to the client’s benefit (positive slippage) or to the client’s detriment (negative slippage). This means that stop loss orders are not guaranteed and all types of orders are subject to slippage.
In addition, all the retail clients are covered by Negative Balance Protection. As a result, clients can lose all but not more than the capital they have invested.
Fees
In addition to usual fees there also is an inactivity fee. In case of no activity, including funding and trading within one year, the company may charge an annual fixed fee of EUR10. Additionally, in case of transactions below USD50, the company charges a fixed fee of USD1.5 on each transaction.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Customers can use several deposit methods such as wire transfer (no deposit fee, withdrawal fee depends on the corresponding banc and is within EUR5-EUR15), credit/debit cards (EUR1.5 deposit fee and 1,8% withdrawal fee), Skrill (no deposit fees, 1,8% withdrawal fee), Neteller (no deposit fees, 1.8% withdrawal fee), QIWI (2% deposit fee and 1% withdrawal fee), Sofort (2% deposit fee and no withdrawal fee). All deposits and withdrawals are processed within one business day.
Trading Platforms
You can trade via the two of the most popular trading platforms worldwide – MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). MT4 is an easy-to-use platform for online trading, analyzing the financial markets and using expert advisors and you will use it in the STP/ECN environment. MT4 is available as a desktop version for Windows and MAC and as a mobile app for tablets and smartphones. In addition, the MT5 platform is also offered. MT5 is a multi-asset terminal that allows trading in currency pairs, stocks, and futures. It provides advanced tools for comprehensive price analysis, algorithmic trading software such as expert advisors and robots, as well as copy trading. There are 80 built-in technical indicators and analytical tools, comprehensive charts with 21 timeframes and the powerful development environment of the MQL5 language.
Assets
Forex – More than 50 popular major, minor, and exotic currency pairs can be traded. The typical spread for the EUR/USD pair is 1.8 pips for the Standard account and close to zero for the ECN account (at the expense of the commissions).
Futures – Indices (10), Commodities (6) and Treasures (3).
Spot Metals – Gold and Silver. The typical spread for the Gold is USD0.46 for the Standard account and USD0.16 for the ECN.
Shares – 65 of major companies such as Apple, Facebook, Google, etc.
Summary
Argus FX has a CySEC regulation, which allows it to provide financial services across European Union. It uses the STP model to execute orders, although the company has a right to act as a market maker. The company provides a wide range of trading instruments via the most popular trading terminals MT4 and MT5. There are two types of live accounts and the minimum deposit amount is USD200. Keep in mind the fees for deposits and withdrawals.
