Axi Broker Review

Indian traders will be trading with AxiTrader Limited, which is incorporated in St Vincent and the Grenadines and is registered (but not regulated by) the SVG Financial Service Authority (FSA).

Unlike other financial authorities, such as ASIC in Australia and the FCA in the UK, the FSA in St Vincent and Grenadines is not a regulator and does not require Axi to restrict leverage, offer negative balance protection, or to be members of a client compensation scheme. But all Indian client funds are held in segregated accounts with top-tier banks and Axi is subject to frequent audits of its finances and client operations. Without negative balance protection, it is possible for Axi’s Indian clients to lose more money than is held in their trading account.

Being an ECN broker, Axi’s client’s trades are posted directly to the market without any dealing desk interference from the broker, removing any possibility of a conflict of interest.

With over a decade of responsible behaviour to its clients, a large international customer base, regulation from some of the strictest authorities in the world, and ongoing industry recognition, Axi is considered a reliable and safe Forex broker. But by trading with Axi’s FSA registered subsidiary, Indian traders will have much fewer protections than they would with other brokers.

Opening an account at Axi is a fully digital process but does require a suitability assessment that is not carried out by many other brokers

All Indian traders are eligible to open a trading account at Axi but will have to follow the fully digital three-step application process. Once the process is complete, Axi aims to approve applications within a few minutes.

How to open an account with Axi:

1. Create your login via the Axi website, you will be asked for your name, email address, country of residence, phone number and whether you want an individual, joint, or company account. We will be focusing on opening an individual account. 
2. The second step is to confirm your identification. Axi needs two ID documents from you, the easiest way to provide these documents is to take a photo of them with a mobile phone:
   1. A photo ID (passport, driver’s license or national ID card) and; 
   2. A secondary ID (a bank or utility statement with your full name and address dated in the last three months).
   3. Important: Axi will not accept ID documents that are black and white images, scanned copies, blurry or damaged.
3. Once your application is approved, you can log in and fund your account in the base currency of your choosing. For more on Axi’s base currencies, click here.

Compared to other similar brokers, Axi’s account opening process is fast, hassle-free, and fully digital. 

Axi offers a decent range of trading instruments with average leverage.

Axi’s trading costs are about average on the Standard Account – most good brokers will have a cost of around 9 USD per lot of EUR/USD – and lower than average on the Pro and Elite Accounts. While the costs are lower than the overall average on the Pro Account, they are average when compared to other ECN brokers. The trading costs on the Elite Account, however, are significantly lower than average.

In combination with these transparent and low-cost trading conditions, Axi has no minimum deposit requirements on the Standard and Pro Accounts (though it does recommend a minimum of 200 USD) making it a good choice for both beginner and experienced traders.

The 200 USD recommended minimum is for good reason. When trading with leverage, brokers will always require a margin to cover the money borrowed from the broker to hold your trading position. With less than 200 USD in your account, it makes it difficult to hold a substantial trading position without getting stopped out and losing the money held in your trading account as a result.

We opened and tested several of Axi’s trading accounts:

Demo Account

Axi offers a demo account with a virtual balance of 50,000 AUD that remains open for 30 days. While using your demo account, Axi will provide you with a dedicated account manager to assist you and answer any questions you may have. The demo account is an opportunity to experience Axi’s services without risking your money, but the 30-day limit is unusual – many brokers offer unlimited demo accounts (but without the dedicated account management service).

MT4 Standard Account

With no minimum deposit, the MT4 Standard Account is a commission-free account where spreads start at 1.00 pips. This gives you access to over 70 FX pairs, maximum leverage of 500:1, free AutoChartist, and a free VPS service (the VPS service is subject to a minimum trading volume).

MT4 Pro account

The MT4 Pro Account is very similar to the MT4 Standard Account, with the same perks and trading assets, the only difference being that this is a commission account, with a 7 USD round trip commission on trades and minimum spreads starting at 0 pips.

Elite Account

The Elite Account is ideal for professional or high-volume traders. In order to open an Elite Account, traders will have to deposit a minimum of 25,000 USD. Spreads are extremely tight, down to 0 pips on the EUR/USD in exchange for a round trip commission of only 3.5 USD. Traders also have access to free VPS services, Autochartist, and the Premium MT4 Trading Tools.

A well-regulated broker, Axi ensures that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed, and as such, all non-profit withdrawals are returned to the deposit source.  No matter your deposit method, the withdrawal of all profits must be made by bank transfer to a bank account in your name. Note that Axi does not allow any withdrawals whatsoever by credit/debit card.

Axi allows deposits and withdrawals in most common currencies. Be aware that you will pay a conversion fee if the base currency of your account is anything other than your deposit currency.

Withdrawals are generally processed within 1-2 days, and funds will only be returned via the same method as the deposit. All withdrawal requests must be made from within the client portal. Axi does not charge a fee for making a withdrawal, but your bank may add charges depending on the method of transfer.

See below for a complete list of payment options and withdrawal times:

Accounts can be denominated in the following base currencies: USD, AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, PLN, and SGD

As Axi does not offer INR as a trading account base currency, any INR deposits or withdrawals will be liable for conversion fees. 

Axi offers MT4 on a mobile trading platform. It is available for both Android and iOS. Although there is slightly limited functionality compared to the desktop version of the platform, with reduced timeframes and fewer charting options, traders will still have access to analytics with technical indicators, graphical objects and a full set of trading orders.

Trading Platform Comparison:

Currently, Axi only supports the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform. MT4 trading on Axi is truly customisable though, with a range of tools and plugins that can be added to the platform to make it more powerful. For more on Axi’s trading tools, click here.

Developed by MetaQuotes in 2002, MT4 is still considered one of the best CFD trading platforms in the world.  The benefit of Axi offering a third-party platform such as MT4 is that traders can use the platform should they choose to migrate to another broker. Although the platform feels somewhat outdated, it is still widely recognised for its execution speeds, excellent charting tools, algorithmic trading, and customisability.  Other features of MT4 include:

• Supports the creation, modification, and utilisation of automated trading strategies.
• Supports MQL4 programming language.
• Algorithmic trading, which allows any trading strategy to be formalised and implemented as an Expert Advisor. 
• Allows traders to develop their own custom indicators.
• Superior charting tools in nine timeframes
• 24 graphical objects
• 30 built-in indicators
• Four pending order types, including buy stop, sell stop, buy limit, and sell limit.

Note that MT4 is not natively capable of trading stock CFDs, so these are not available at Axi.

Axi has a carefully selected range of trading tools that all MT4 users will find useful. While all of these tools are “free” to Axi clients, many of them are conditional on higher minimum deposits –  highlights include:

AutoChartist

Free to all Axi clients no matter their account balance, Autochartist is an award-winning automated technical analysis tool that plugs into MT4 and scans all available CFD markets for trading opportunities.

Autochartist’s advanced pattern recognition engine identifies the strongest potential trading opportunities and predicts future price movements. Some of Autochartist’s key features are:

• Chart pattern recognition
• Fibonacci pattern recognition
• Key level analysis
• Pattern quality indication

The market scanner provides statistically significant market movements and identifies important price levels that are catalysts for market movements.

PsyQuation Premium

With a minimum deposit of 500 USD (or currency equivalent) you will get access to PsyQuation Premium. PsyQuation is one of the world’s most advanced data analytics plugins for retail traders. Using highly sophisticated algorithms it works like a trading coach, analysing your trading style, identifying mistakes and helping you avoid making similar mistakes again. Because every Axi client gets a unique PsyQuation Score, you can use the PsyQuation leaderboard to follow the most successful traders – details provided include performance history and equity curve. 

Auto/Social/Copy Trading

Axi also offers DupliTrade (with a 5000 AUD minimum deposit), a powerful auto-execution system that duplicates the trades of chosen strategy providers; Myfxbook, a free social trading plugin that allows you to follow and copy other traders; and ZuluTrade, another free social trading platform that easily allows you to follow and copy other traders.

MT4 Forex VPS Hosting

Axi clients can also subscribe to an MT4 Forex VPS hosting service from external third-party providers, helping ensure trades are never disrupted by technological or connectivity issues. Prices and exact services offered vary by provider, but some are free once you hit a minimum trading volume of 20 lots PCM.

Trading Tools Comparison:

Aside from a perfectly functional Economic Calendar, Axi also runs a Market News Blog which features regular analysis, both technical and fundamental, as well as educational pieces and features. Regular analysis includes a weekly market preview, charts of the day, charts of the week, and a daily briefing on the market open.

Overall, not as in-depth as you may expect from a broker of this type, but all analysis is solid and well-written.

Trader education at Axi is detailed and flexible, available in both written and video format. Highlights of the education available include:

• Video tutorials on demand 
• Courses available in 24 languages
• eBook with simple lesson structure
• Frequent tests to monitor your progress
• Frequent webinars on both basic and advanced topics

Subjects covered include:

• Forex trading basics: Currency pairs, leverage, spreads, opening/closing trades
• Analysis techniques: Charts, technical analysis, support/resistance, using indicators and oscillators to support trading strategies
• Developing a trading strategy: Including day trading, news trading, trend trading and more
• Trading psychology: Risk management, greed and overcoming the fear of loss

While Axi’s educational content is not as broad or as deep as the best trading educators, like BDSwiss or IG Markets, it is still better than most ECN brokers and will be useful for both beginners and experienced traders.

Educational Materials Comparison:

Toll-free numbers are available in Malaysia, Australia, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, and the UK, but unfortunately not India.

This support will help you get started and learn how to trade at any time of day that suits your schedule.