Vantage FX Review

Is Vantage FX safe?

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Vantage FX is authorised and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), and the Vanuatu Financial Service Commission (VFSC).  Furthermore, every deposit is protected by either the Investor Compensation Fund or by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the UK. See the following list of Vantage FX registered companies:

• Vantage International Group Limited trading under Vantage FX is authorised and regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), Securities Investment Business Law (SIBL) number 1383491 and is registered at Artemis House, 67 Fort St, PO Box 2775, Grand Cayman KY1-1111.
• Vantage Global Limited is authorised and regulated by the VFSC under Section 4 of the Financial Dealers Licensing Act [CAP 70] (Reg. No. 700271) and is registered at iCount Building, Kumul Highway, Port Vila, Vanuatu.
• Vantage Global Prime Pty Ltd, trading under Vantage FX, is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), AFSL no. 428901 and is located at level 29, 31 Market St, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia.
• Vantage Global Prime LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN: 590299, and is registered at 7 Bell Yard, London, England, WC2A 2JR (Company No. OC376560).

All client funds are held in a segregated custodial account held with National Australia Bank. Vantage FX also offers negative balance protection, which means that clients cannot lose more than has been deposited and will not be liable for any debt resulting from these positions.  Overall, we deem that it is safe to trade with Vantage FX. 

Trading Conditions

An ECN/STP broker, Vantage FX offers trading on Forex, indices, energies, metals, cryptocurrencies), and shares. Offering three live accounts denominated in nine different currencies, including AUD, USD, GBP, SGD, CAD, NZD, JPY, and HKD, clients have access to leverage of up to 500:1.  The lowest minimum deposit is 200 USD, and minimum trades start at 0.01 lots.  Spreads are tight on its two ECN accounts, starting at 0.0 pips, but are significantly wider on its Standard account at 1.4 pips.  Vantage FX allows hedging, scalping, and copy trading.  No inactivity fees are charged on dormant accounts.

Vantage FX also offers Islamic swap-free accounts.

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Standard STP Account

The Standard account is perfect for novice traders who want direct market access with no commissions. The minimum deposit on this STP account is 200 USD.  Fees are included in the spreads, which start at 1.4 pips on the EUR/USD, and traders can access leverage of up to 500:1.  Minimum transaction levels are at 0.01 lots.

Raw ECN

As the name implies, this is an ECN account, with no dealing desk.  Raw ECN accounts are professional trading accounts with floating spreads starting at 0 pips on the EUR/USD. The minimum deposit is 500 USD, leverage is 500:1, and a commission of 3 USD is charged/lot per side (6 USD round turn).

Pro ECN

Pro ECN accounts are tailored for professional traders and money managers who trade in high volumes.  The minimum deposit is 20,000 USD, leverage is up to 500:1, spreads are tight, starting at 0.0 pips, and a commission of 2 USD/ lot per side is charged (4 USD round turn).

Demo Account

Those afraid to risk real money on trading will be glad to learn that Vantage FX has introduced an unlimited MT4 demo account. Traders can test strategies and analyse data on over 300 instruments.    

Spreads and commissions

Vantage FX offers tight spreads on its two ECN accounts, starting at 0.0 pips and 1.4 pips on its Standard account.  While the Standard account is commission-free, commissions of 2 and 3 USD/lot per side are charged on its Pro ECN and Raw ECN accounts, respectively. As with most brokers, fees are charged if positions are held open overnight.

Deposits and Withdrawals

As a well-regulated broker, Vantage FX ensures that all Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations are followed. All withdrawal requests are processed Monday to Friday, 9 am – 7 pm (AEST), within one business day. Vantage FX enables clients to open accounts and deposit funds in the following base currencies: AUD, USD, EUR, GBP, NZD, SGD, JPY, and CAD. Please see the following list of payment methods for further details:

• Swift Wire Transfer:  International bank wire transfers may incur fees charged by your financial institution as well as handling fees charged by the NAB. Deposits are processed within two to five business days.
• Visa and Mastercard: Deposits may be subject to fees charged by your financial institution, as well as handling fees charged by the NAB.  Deposits are instant, but withdrawals can take between three to five business days after successfully approved by Vantage FX to reflect into bank accounts.
• Neteller: Deposits are instant but may be subject to Neteller’s fees. 
• Skrill: Deposits are processed within 24 hours but may be subject to Skrill’s fees.
• Fasapay: Deposits are instant and free but are denominated in USD. 

Bonus Structure

Vantage FX has a diverse range of active deals and promotions, including on-deposit bonuses, FX Rebate 10% bonuses, Active Trader Program bonuses, and ‘refer a friend’ bonuses.  See the Vantage FX website for more details.

Vantage FX for Beginners

Overall, Vantage FX offers a decent range of educational or market analysis materials for new traders.  However, to access the Pro Trader Tools powered by Trading Central, a deposit of 1,000 USD is required.  It also offers a free unlimited MT4 demo account, and customer service support is available 24/5 for all client-related and technical queries.   

Educational material

For those without a Pro Trader account, beginner traders can access a series of articles and videos explaining Forex trading basics, a market overview, market analysis, trading psychology, and various MetaTrader platform tutorials. Vantage FX also provides a library of over 130 videos as part of its Pro Trader videos. Content ranges from short introductory clips for beginners to longer advanced concepts across forex and CFD trading across various markets.  Again, one has to make an initial deposit of 1,000 USD to gain access to this material.   

Market Analysis Materials

Vantage FX provides research primarily from third-party content providers such as Trading Central. The broker also has some basic features, such as an economic calendar and client sentiment data. Still, Vantage FX lacks a variety of in-house content besides its daily videos, compared to other forex brokers.

Customer Support

Vantage FX offers support in ten different languages, including Italian, French, Hindi, Malaysian, Chinese, Mandarin, Spanish, English, Cantonese, Mandarin. Help is available 24/5 via telephone, email, Telegram, and live chat.

For the purposes of this review, we found customer support to be responsive, polite, and resourceful.

Trading Platforms

Vantage FX offers support for MT4 and MT5 platforms in addition to the Vantage FX App and the Zulutrade Social Trading platform. 

MetaTrader 4

The MetaTrader 4 Platform (MT4) is the most popular online Forex trading terminal in the world. It has a straightforward interface, considered easy-to-use for both novice and experienced traders alike.  Features of the MT4 platform include 50 technical tools, 30 built-in indicators, multiple chart types, and 9 timeframes.

MetaTrader 5

MetaTrader 5 is the latest trading platform developed by MetaQuotes Software Corp. Set to replace MT4, MT5 is more intuitive and offers significant improvements in copy trading, mobile trading, and other innovative features that make trading account management more efficient. The MT5 dashboard supports 38 technical indicators, 44 graphical objects, 21 timeframes, one-click trading, built-in depth of market widgets, and an economic calendar.

Vantage FX App

With a suite of technical indicators such as Moving Averages, Bollinger Bands, MACD, 9 timeframes, charting tools, and 10 timeframes, the Vantage FX App offers traders of all styles powerful yet simple technical charting.  It is packed full of features such as order management, custom watch lists, trading signals by Trading Central, alerts, news calendars, and more. 

Zulutrade Social Trading Platform

Through the ZuluTrade social trading platform, Vantage FX clients will gain exclusive access to a vast pool of professional traders and profitable trading systems.  ZuluTrade enables users to locate successful traders that are ranked by ZuluRank, a proprietary performance evaluation algorithm, and follow their trades which are translated into real trades in their own trading accounts.

Mobile Apps

All the trading platforms supported by Vantage FX are available as mobile and tablet downloads – allowing traders to keep track of their open positions while on the move.

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 Vantage FX 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 Statement

Trading Forex is risky, and each broker is required to detail how risky the trading of Forex CFDs is to clients. Vantage FX would like you to know that: Trading Forex and CFDs involves significant risk and can result in the loss of your invested capital. You should not invest more than you can afford to lose and should ensure that you fully understand the risks involved. Trading leveraged products may not be suitable for all investors. Before trading, please take into consideration your level of experience, investment objectives and seek independent financial advice if necessary.

Overview

Overall, Vantage FX is a trustworthy STP/ECN broker with a decent product line-up.  It offers support for the most common trading platforms and has excellent trading conditions on its Raw ECN account. Its education and market analysis sections are somewhat limited, but it offers excellent customer support and a free unlimited MT4 demo account. It could expand the demo account to allow traders to practice on other platforms.  Besides these features, there is little to distinguish it from many of the other trading sites available online.