CMC Markets

Who is CMC Markets?

CMC Markets (CMC) was founded in 1989 and is a well-established, publicly traded, UK forex broker. It is highly regarded for successfully adjusting to the ever-changing online brokerage industry. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is regulated by various authorities including the FCA. It’s characterised by its low-cost pricing, wide variety of tradeable instruments and advanced trading platform, with good research material, trading tools, and charting.

What are CMC Market’s offerings?

Educational & research material

CMC offers modern educational tools which are well-regarded compared to what competitors offer. New traders can take advantage of an extensive trading library as well as technical and fundamental tutorials which can help them boost their knowledge. A big portion of this material is focused on platform and software instruction, which is quite useful given that CMC’s Next Generation has plenty of features.

There are also guides on introduction to trading the multiple products offered, along with videos on trading strategies. Professional traders can benefit from a partnership with Trade With Precision, which offers online webinars on more advanced topics. However, the lack of a search function makes it a little hard to filter topics.

Commissions & fees

Most of the trading fees at CMC Markets are based on the spread which varies within the industry. The spread is how CMC profits off the buy and sell price, in other words through the bid / ask spread. There is a commission charged once a trader is trading individual shares and ETFs. This goes directly to the client’s account upon order execution or added to the spread accordingly, depending on whether it’s a CFD or spread betting account.

CMC does not have a minimum deposit requirement for opening a live account. However, they do charge an inactivity fee of £10 per month and a market data fee for specific CFD shares. There aren’t any other non-trading-related fees.

What instruments are offered by CMC Markets?

CMC provides traders with a wide range of tradable instruments across several different asset classes. In fact, it offers one of the largest product catalogues available in the online forex brokerage community. Besides forex, commodities, indices, and individual shares, there is also a comprehensive bond listing and 14 cryptocurrency offerings (12 cryptos + 2 indices). Additionally, there are competitive spreads offered. The 10,000+ instruments provided, favour longer-term portfolio managers specifically.

Products

What are CMC Markets’
trading platforms?

CMC offers the fast and easy Next Generation trading platform for web, tablet and mobile, with innovative tools and features. It also offers the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform.

01 Next Generation

It has three basic order types (Market, Limit, Stop) with the option of “take profit” and/or “stop loss” orders to them. The trader can set a stop limit order for example, at the time of execution and then amend it accordingly. The platform features advanced charting with 115 indicators, 12 chart types, and 35 drawing tools, customisable watchlists and a streaming Reuters feed. It also provides price projection and pattern recognition tools as well as a built-in connection to the client-based trader’s forum.

02 MetaTrader 4

Competitive spreads are offered in line with the Next Generation platform. Clients have the ability to automate their trading with trading robots (Expert Advisors), view and copy other traders’ strategies, analyse the markets with advanced chart types, indicators and drawing tools. They can also download free MT4 indicators and add-ons to facilitate their strategy and most importantly they can trade on the go with the MT4 app for iPhone or Android devices.

Is CMC Markets safe?

CMC Markets is suitable for all types of traders, from newbies to experienced traders. The company’s fees are competitively low within the industry and it is a well-regulated broker. It is ranked as the winner for Investopedia’s Best Overall Forex Broker for 2020 as well as Best Forex Broker for Range of Offerings.