fxpig.com in brief
FXPIG is a trading name of Prime Intermarket Group Asia Pacific Ltd, which is part of the FXPIG Group of Companies. Prime Intermarket Group Asia Pacific Ltd regulated by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC). The company claims to use the STP model when processing customer orders. Customers can trade more than 250 CFDs on currency pairs, indices, commodities, shares, and cryptocurrencies through the MetaTrader 4 (MT4), and cTrader platforms. The leverage can be up to 1:500 and you can start trading by investing USD200.
Regulation
It is particularly important to know whether and where the company is regulated. Prime Intermarket Group Asia Pacific Limited, doing business as FXPIG, is authorized, and regulated by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) holding a Securities Dealer license (Principal’s License) number 014578 issued by VFSC. The homepage states that client’s trading funds are secured and segregated from the company daily operation account.
Account Types
There are three types of live accounts that differ in the initial required deposit, the spread of the instruments, and the size of the commission. The maximum leverage is 1:500.
Standard Account – The minimum required initial deposit is USD200. Spreads can be close to zero at the expense of a commission of USD8 per lot traded. You can choose the so-called “All-In” option where spreads start from 0.9 pips and forex trading is commission free. CFDs on shares and cryptocurrencies are charged a commission of 0.35%. This account is available on MT4 and cTrader platforms, as well as the FIX API protocol.
Premiere Account – The minimum required initial deposit is USD5,000. Spreads can be close to zero at the expense of a commission of USD6 per lot traded. You can choose the so-called “All-In” option where spreads start from 0.7 pips and forex trading is commission free. CFDs on shares and cryptocurrencies are charged a commission of 0.30%. This account is available on MT4 and cTrader platforms.
Pro Account – The minimum required initial deposit is USD50,000. Spreads are close to zero at the expense of a commission of USD4 per lot traded. CFDs on shares and cryptocurrencies are charged a commission of 0.25%. This account is available on MT4 and cTrader platforms.
All accounts allow scalping as a trading technique and automated trading with expert advisors (EAs).
Market Maker or STP Brokerage?
The FAQ section informs that the company is a 100% pure STP broker and all client orders are sent directly to the liquidity providers. It makes money only from the spread or commissions on the volume of transactions. This eliminates the main conflict of interest related to the customer’s losses. However, the list of its liquidity providers is not specified. Moreover, part 11 of the “Client Agreement” says that the company may transfer the execution of client orders to another member of the FXPIG group of companies, which leads to a conflict of interest.
The same document states that FXPIG does not guarantee any order. Placing stops, regardless of the entry or closing designation, does not guarantee that the trade will be filled at the order price. All entry stops and stops will be filled, upon activation, at the first/best available market price that may or may not match the requested order price. This means that stop loss orders are not guaranteed and all orders are subject to slippage.
In addition, the document warns that you remain liable to pay all fees, costs, losses (including trading losses and trading losses that result in a negative balance, whereas the negative balance is also due to be repaid to FXPIG) and other amounts to FXPIG even if you have had full loss, or more, of all margins deposited by you. This means that you are not covered by a negative balance protection policy, so be careful.
Fees
Only the usual fees, such as spreads and rollovers, are applicable here. There is no inactivity fee, so you can trade on a schedule convenient for you. If your trading account is not accessed for a period of at least twelve months, your account becomes dormant. FXPIG closes any dormant account and stores the remaining balance until the client claims it.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Deposits can be accomplished by credit or debit cards, bank transfers, and e-wallets such as Skrill, Neteller. The company processes all deposits and withdrawals without any additional fees. However, most of the deposit methods include some type of fee whether from the Payment Service Provider (PSP) or banks that facilitate the transfer. FXPIG does not accept responsibility for such bank fees, and they will be covered by the customer. The time it takes for a deposit to reach a trading account depends on the deposit method used. Typically, Skrill, Neteller and credit/debit card deposits are instant.
Withdrawals can be made in the same ways as deposits – bank transfer, credit/debit cards and electronic wallets. All funds will be returned to the same account, or source, from which they were originally deposited. Withdrawals can be made by submitting a withdrawal request from the “Client portal”. Withdrawal methods such as Skrill and Neteller are processed instantly.
Trading Platforms
The company provides the most popular platforms in the industry – MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5) and cTrader.
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the most popular trading platforms in the world. It is convenient and functional allowing the trader not only to make transactions but also analyze market dynamics, and program trading robots by means of MQL4 language, as well. The platform is available as a downloadable version for Windows and as a mobile application for Android and iOS devices.
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) develops and supplements the functionality of the previous version with a large volume of financial and news information, modern analytical and technical means, additional services, and customization options. The effective difference between MT5 and its previous version is that the terminal integrates MQL5 IDE’s own development environment. Although FXPIG claims to offer MT5 as a platform, no account type includes it.
cTrader offers advanced trading capabilities with fast entry and execution, asynchronous order processing, showing a market depth (Level II pricing), and a full range of advanced order types. cTrader is the institutional trader’s preferred platform, FXPIG says.
FXPIG’s servers are hosted in Equinix LD4 data center in London, which has more transactional volume than New York or Tokyo and hosts over 600 buy and sell side firms. Along with this, FXPIG has partnered with the leading FX bridge and aggregation software to offer lightning-fast execution with some of the lowest spreads in the industry, the company claims.
Assets
Currency pairs – over 60 major, minor, and exotic currency pairs can be traded. Spreads depend on the account type and the minimum value for the EUR/USD is 0.9 pips in the Standard account and close to zero in the Pro account. The leverage can be up to 1:500.
Indices – You can trade 13 of the major indices across North America, Europe, and Asia, such as DJIA, DAX40, UK100, etc. The minimum value of the spread for DAX40 is 0.8 points and for DJIA it is 0.7 points.
Commodities – CFDs of 13 commodities are available for trading including Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, Brent Oil, Natural Gas etc. The minimum value of the spread for Crude Oil is USD0.053 and for Gold it is USD0.13.
Shares – Nearly 140 CFDs on US and European shares are available for trading. The minimum value of the spread for Apple shares is USD0.07.
Cryptocurrencies – CFDs on 17 cryptocurrencies are available for trading including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, etc. The minimum value of the spread for Bitcoin is USD9.
Summary
FXPIG is a VFSC-regulated company, which most likely uses the STP model to execute customer orders. This eliminates the main conflict of interest that exists in market makers, but there are some other similar conflicts. Customers can trade currency pairs, commodities, indices, shares, and cryptocurrencies through the MT4 and cTrader terminals, which can be downloaded for PC or as a mobile app. Clients can top up their accounts by bank transfers, debit, or credit cards, and e-wallets. Live trading can begin by investing USD200. Scalpers are welcome.
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