CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78.04% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
XM is an online broker that offers trading services in forex and CFDs all over the world. The broker is particularly famous for good trading conditions, low spreads, higher leverage and funds security. XM provides margin-based trading services in multiple asset classes with a wide range of financial instruments. In this piece, I present a 360 degree view of the XM broker. So let’s get started.
Overview
Founded in 2009, XM is a part of XM Group that operates through its brand names XM Global and Trading Point Pty limited. With more than 3.5 million customers and a team of 450 professionals from all over the world, XM offers trading services in 196 countries. The XM group is fully authorized and regulated by many reputable regulatory bodies, including CySEC, ASIC, FCA and IFSC. Full details about XM regulations are as under:
Entity Name: Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd.
Country: Cyprus
Regulatory Authority: Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission – CySEC
License Number: 120/10.
Entity Name: XM Global Limited
Country: Belize
Regulatory Authority: International Financial Services Commission – IFSC
License Number: 000261/106
Entity Name: Trading Point of Financial Instruments Pty Ltd.
Country: Australia
Regulatory Authority: Australian Securities and Investment Commission
License Number: 443670
Entity Name: Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Pty Ltd.
Country: United Kingdom
Regulatory Authority: Financial Conduct Authority
License Number: 705428
| Pros | Cons |
| 1000+ tradable Instruments Superior research & educational tools Multiple deposit and withdrawal options No fee on withdrawals Strong regulatory framework | Limited fund protection for non-european clients Charges Inactivity fee Average customer support No proprietary trading platform |
Who XM is for?
With low-cost trading solutions and multiple trading platforms, the broker is suitable for all types of traders. Newbies can take advantage of hassle-free account opening process, demo trading accounts and comprehensive education section. On the other hand, advanced-level and institutional traders can benefit from a wide range of tradable instruments, high leverage, low spreads and good trading conditions. XM is famous for its fast and easy account opening process as well as multiple payment methods. Funds protection under insurance programs and strong web encryption protocols provide next level assurance to clients who value security of funds more than anything else.
Sign up bonus: Clients can claim the first time signup bonus of up to $30 at XM.
Is XM Safe?
Trust Score: 82 (read here)
XM is a multi-regulated company known for providing transparent and reliable trading solutions. As per the regulatory requirements, the broker has a statutory obligation to keep clients funds in segregated accounts that are maintained with AAA rating banks. XM also needs to keep its capital investment separate from clients’ funds. Further, the broker must always maintain a minimum amount of funds to cope with any unforeseen financial event. The company employs automated risk management parameters for high volatile financial markets.
XM is also a member of the Investors Compensation Fund (ICP) program. Clients can claim their financial losses up to a certain level in case the company goes bankrupt. Instant trade execution with no requotes policy, state-of-the-art web security protocols, and sound regulatory framework provides enough assurance on the legitimacy of the company.
Rating: 4/5
| Year founded: | 2009 |
| Publicly traded: | No |
| Licenses: | FCA, ASIC, IFSC, CySEC |
| Backlist: | No |
Offering of Investments
XM provides a comprehensive range of financial assets for margin-based trading. Clients can trade more than a thousand financial instruments across six asset classes. For exchange-traded securities, the broker has nearly 100 non-cfd assets available for trading. Traders can benefit from a total of 55 currency pairs to diversify their trading portfolio. It is however worth mentioning here that the list of the offerings may vary from country to country. Traders need to confirm the availability of specific assets before signing up with the broker.
| Forex: Spot Trading | Yes |
| Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs) | 55 |
| Social Trading / Copy-Trading | Yes |
| CFDs instruments | Forex, Shares, Stocks, Indices, Options, Commodities, Metals & Energies. (1000+) |
Commissions & Fees
XM offers its trading services with low spreads and commissions as compared to its competitors. With variable spreads, the broker hosts a fractional pip pricing mechanism. The 5-digit price quotation helps scalpers to benefit from the smallest price movements.
The company offers three types of accounts, including the XM Zero, Micro, and Standard accounts. The fee and commission may vary depending upon the selected type of account. The broker does not charge any commission on the Micro and Standard account types, however opposite is the case with the XM Zero account. Both Micro and Standard accounts have higher spreads as compared to XM Zero Account. In other words, the company makes money on Micro and Standard accounts by adding mark-up in spreads while in zero account, the main source of earning is commission.
Spread in the XM Zero account starts from 0 pips and averages at 0.1 pips. The broker charges a commission of $7 per lot, so the total spread cost becomes 0.8 pips in XM Zero Account. On the other hand, the spread cost for the same tradable asset through Micro and Stand accounts remains between 1.6 to 1.7 pips. With that being said, the XM Zero account is a more competitive option as compared to other account types.
| Minimum Initial Deposit | $100 for XM Zero Account, $5 for Micro & Standard Accounts |
| Average Spread EUR/USD – Standard | 1.6 Pips |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD – Active | 0.8 pips |
| Minimum withdrawal | $5 |
Platforms & Tools
Despite having no proprietary platform, XM offers its clients the state of the art trading platforms – MT4 and MT5 – for all devices. Traders can access the XM’s MT4/MT5 web terminal online or download their desktop versions. Similarly, On-the-go users can benefit from the metatrader’s mobile trading apps that are supported on all android and iOS-based devices.
Being easy to access, the web trader supports the feature of one-click trading. Clients can scroll through various time periods to analyze the past performance of the underlying asset. Traders can also view their active orders displayed on the charts. The web trader also allows clients to edit graphical objects as per their trading preferences.
On the other hand, the award-winning MT4/MT5 desktop trading platforms enable XM clients to benefit from instant trade execution with no price rejections or re-quotations. The XM’s trading platform allows traders to trade a wide range of financial instruments using a unique leverage value of up to 1:888. In addition to supporting all order types, clients are allowed to employ full EA functions. With more than 80 technical indicators, the broker makes trading analysis considerably easier.
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| Charting – Indicators / Studies (Total) | 50+ |
| Charting – Drawing Tools (Total) | 30+ |
| Charting – Trade From Chart | Yes |
| Order Type – Trailing Stop | Yes |
Research
XM offers a wide range of research tools for its clients. The research section has various heads, including Market Overviews, News, XM Research, Trade Ideas, Technical Summaries, Economic Calendar, XM TV, and Podcast. Let’s have a quick look at each of the heads to find out what’s inside.
The market overview tab features the latest socio-political news that might have some impact on the forex market. The news tab reveals asset-specific information, suggesting the bearish or bullish market trend for various assets.
The XM research covers technical analysis posts on a wide range of currency pairs, comments of industry experts, and special reports on major FX pairs.
The trade ideas and technical summaries consist of trading signals, suggesting buying or selling of different assets. The economic calendar keeps traders updated on upcoming economic events.
XM’s trading podcast provides traders with meaningful content to help them trade confidently. XM TV delivers excellent market commentary on various financial affairs.
Education
A wide range of educational resources helps traders to learn every bit of the forex world. The series of nearly 50 video tutorials deliver educational content divided into seven courses. The broker educates traders from basic-level and then step-by-step introduces them to more advanced-level information on forex trading. A wide range of articles covers in-depth details on various trading aspects as well as the industry norms. The broker also holds live webinars daily. Clients who find live education more appealing can sign up for free webinar tutorials.
Mobile Trading
XM offers MT4/MT5 mobile trading platforms for mobile and tablet devices that support iOS and android operating systems. Clients can visit the respective store to get a copy of the XM MT4/MT5 mobile trading apps for their smartphones. The mobile trading platform has almost all the features that are available in a web-based or desktop trading platform. The app also has built-in market analysis tools including but not limited to trendlines, fibonacci levels, relative strength index, commodity channel index and horizontal lines etc.
| Mobile devices | Android & Apple |
| Features | Watchlist, charting tools, negative balance protection |
Final Thoughts
After a detailed review of the broker, I hereby conclude that XM is one of the best forex brokers due to its comprehensive product range and competitive pricing structure. Delivering value for money, XM is a suitable broker for both learners as well as seasoned traders. Instant trade execution policy coupled with swap-free Islamic accounts and round the clock customer support make the broker a complete package for all types of traders.
