IronFX Review

Is IronFX Safe?

IronFX, the trading name of Notesco Financial Services, has oversight from every major regulator in the world. Notesco UK Limited has been regulated by the FCA (license 585561) since 2013, Notesco Financial Services Limited is regulated by CySEC (license 125/10), IronFX Global (South Africa) (PTY) LTD is regulated by the FSCA (FSP 45276) and Notesco Pty Limited has been regulated by ASIC (AFSL no. 417482) since 2012.

IronFX previously had excellent credibility within the industry, with awards for Most Trustworthy Forex Broker 2014 (JRJ, China’s leading financial portal) and Best Customer Service Provider 2014 (European CEO Magazine). Unfortunately in 2015, following allegations of problems with withdrawals, IronFX’ European subsidiary was the subject of a CySec investigation that resulted in an official sanction and a settlement of 335,000 EUR. In fairness, the investigation was part of a wider inquiry into Cypriot Forex brokers which resulted in ten other companies being sanctioned and the regulators investigating IronFX said that no severe wrongdoing was found to have occurred.

Because of the strict regulatory environment which IronFX operates under, all client funds are kept segregated from operational accounts and all European traders will have negative balance protection. As IronFX does operate instant execution accounts, there remains the potential for conflict of interest; but the availability of market execution accounts should satisfy any concerned traders.

Trading Conditions

The trading conditions vary greatly at IronFX because they support two execution models and a range of accounts to take advantage of them. Spreads and commissions vary depending on execution method, account type and minimum deposit.

Account Types

IronFX has accounts that use instant and market execution. This way traders can decide how their trades are executed, along with the spread/commission combination that best suits their strategy. Accounts are divided up into Live and ECN/STP.

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• The Live Fixed Spread Account and Live Floating Spread Account use instant execution and each have Micro, Premium and VIP tiers. The Premium and VIP tiers are unlocked with higher minimum deposits and feature tighter spreads.
• The Live Zero Fixed Spread Account also uses instant execution, but spreads are fixed as low as 0 pips, and a commission is taken per lot traded.
• The STP/ECN No Commission Account is a market execution account, where no commission is charged but is replaced by a wider spread.
• The STP/ECN Zero Spread Account has spreads as low as 0 pips, and a commission is charged per lot traded. Rates vary between FX and Gold lots.
• The STP/ECN Absolute Zero Account is a fully customised market execution account, where 0 pip spreads are offered with a low commission in exchange for a higher minimum deposit.

Spreads and Commissions

Spreads and commission payments vary significantly between the accounts at IronFX, and more considerably between the Instant and Market execution accounts.

• Spreads for EURUSD vary from 0 pips on the absolute zero accounts, to 2.2 pips on the Live Fixed Spread account with the micro option.
• Commissions on the account range from 0 on the Instant execution accounts to 43 USD per lot on some of the exotic pairs on commissioned accounts.

To get the right balance of spreads and commissions, consider your minimum deposit and select the best account for you at the time of signup.

Deposit & Withdrawal Fees

IronFX does not charge for deposits, but withdrawals have an administrative fee varying on the deposit method. They are:

• Bank Wire – none
• Credit Card – up to EUR 1.5 per transaction
• Skrill – 1% capped to USD 10,000
• Neteller – 2% capped to USD 30.00 / minimum USD 1.00 per transaction
• Fasapay – 0.5% per transaction (max approx. $5)
• China Union Pay – CNY 20 per transaction

Inactivity Fees

IronFX will charge fees on accounts that show no activity or funding for over a year. Should there be no activity for 12 months, a 50 USD annual fixed administrative fee will be charged, and should the account balance be below 50 USD the remainder of the balance will be taken and the account closed.

Should there only be deposits and withdrawals on the account with no trading activity, IronFX will take up to 3% of the account balance as an administrative fee to cover costs they incur.

IronFX for Beginners

IronFX is a dependable broker for beginner traders who are want to use MT4. New traders will also benefit from award-winning educational and research material and accounts that will evolve with them as they gain experience.

Education Material

The IronFX Academy features educational videos, ebooks, and an encyclopedia along with online webinars and listings for live seminars.

As winners of the Best Forex Educators in 2015 (UK Forex Awards), the IronFX video section is full of educational videos which unlock for traders who open a live trading account and make a deposit. Topics cover trading strategy, market analysis, social trading, crypto trading and trading psychology.

Analysis Material

IronFX won the award for Best Forex Research Reports 2014 (UK Forex Awards) for their world-class financial reporting service. The research team at IronFX is frequently called on by major news organisations like Marketwatch, Bloomberg and Reuters for their opinion on major economic events.

Key to the IronFX research area is the publicly available daily market insights from the analysis team, and a separate IronFX research app available on Android, IOS and Windows phone.

Live economic news, current rates, analysis and the economic calendar data, is delivered directly into your trading platform to aid you in planning your trading day and uncovering the most profitable opportunities.

Customer Support

Customer support is available 24 hours a day, five days a week and in 45 languages to support clients from over 180 countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

IronFX can be contacted on local toll-free phone numbers, live chat and email.

Trading Platforms

IronFX supports MT4 and the associated webtrader and mobile applications. Using this setup delivers a seamless account setup, so trading on a desktop, a web browser or a mobile device will give you access to your portfolio of investments. MT4 is available for both PC and Mac.

Mobile Trading Apps

IronFX has comprehensive support for MT4 on Android and IOS. These applications give traders live prices of financial instruments, open orders and positions, risk exposure, and live charts for research on the go.

Evaluation Method

We value transparency and openness in the way we review the partners. To bring transparency to the forefront, we have published our review process that includes a detailed breakdown of the IronFX offering. Central to that process is the evaluation of the reliability of the broker, the platform offering of the broker and the trading conditions offered to clients, which are summarised in this review. Each one of these is graded, and an overall score is calculated and assigned to the broker.

Risk Warning

Trading Forex is risky, and each broker is required to detail how risky the trading of Forex CFDs is to clients. IronFX would like you to know that: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75.35% 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.

Overview

IronFX is an established and well-regulated Forex broker with award-winning education and research material for traders.

IronFX’s wide range of account types and execution methods are very welcome, as so many brokers only seem to offer a single account type these days. Support for MT4 and decent customer service is slightly let down by withdrawal fees.