General
Features
Pros
- Tight Spreads
- Welcome bonus
- Customized IB structure
Cons
- Lacking Educational Materials
VT Markets Review
Review Sections:
Based in Australia, VTMarkets is a member of Vantage International Group Limited, together with brokers such as KlimexCM.com and VantageFX.com.
Launched in 2016, VTMarkets is hardly a new operation. That said, it has thus far failed to accrue much relevant feedback from its users. This lack of trader feedback is peculiar, to say the least. Not even portals dedicated to accruing such feedback have managed to come up with relevant bits of information on VTMarkets.
The broker relies on several hardly unique selling points to peddle its deals. These selling points include:
- Attractive trading conditions. The ECN accounts of the broker feature spreads from 0.0 pips.
- Solid trading platforms. VTMarkets harnesses the power of MT4, in its desktop and WebTrader versions.
- The broker supports an impressive range of funding methods to allow its clients to make deposits and withdrawals through their preferred method.
- The broker’s next-generation client portal allows would-be traders to open an account in 30 seconds.
- A superb demo account. Opening a demo account is quick and painless. Demo accounts support most features and tradable assets the real money accounts offer.
VTMarkets also boasts an impressive selection of liquidity providers. Among its liquidity providers, the broker counts banks such as JP Morgan, Citi, HSBC, Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank, etc.
The organization behind the VTMarkets brand is VT Markets Pty Ltd. This corporate entity belongs to Vantage International Group Limited, and it operates under the legal coverage of its licenses. Vantage International maintains offices in several countries, and it enjoys the legal backing of several national regulatory agencies.
The international side of the brokerage calls the Cayman Islands its home. The exact address of the VTMarkets offices is Artemis House, 67 Fort St, PO Box 2775, Grand Cayman KY1-1111.
This side of the business is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). Its license number is 1383491.
Vantage Global Prime Pty Ltd. is responsible for the Australian side of the business. The address of the Australian office is level 35, 31 Market St, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia. The regulatory agency behind this operational branch is ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. The ASIC license of the broker bears the number 428901.
VTMarkets also has an office in Taiwan, at Taipei 101, No. 7, Section 5, Xinyi Rd, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110.
Neither ASIC nor CIMA can vouch for the MiFID compliance of the operation. It is thus unclear whether users from Europe can trade with the broker in a regulated fashion, enjoying the legal protections of MiFID.
The two countries from which VTMarkets does not accept traders are the US and North Korea.
Why should you pick VTMarkets as your top trading destination, over its competitors?
- VTMarkets offers a Raw ECN account, which excludes conflicts of interest stemming from in-house market-making.
- ECN trading also leads to lower costs and fairer trading conditions.
- The broker offers attractive money-management options, such as MAM/PAMM accounts, supporting several allocation methods and superb allocation speeds.
- Non-ECN accounts offer STP/NDD trading.
Platform and Tools
| Feature | VT Markets |
|---|---|
| Virtual Trading(Demo) | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | |
| Desktop Platform (Mac) | |
| Web Platform | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | |
| Proprietary | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | |
| cTrader | |
| Currenex | |
| ZuluTrade | |
| MirrorTrader | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools(Total) | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | |
| Watchlists | |
| Order Type - Trailing Stop |
This broker has kept its platform options simple but solid. As mentioned, VTMarkets’ offer is based on the tried-and-proven MT4 platform. The platform is available in WebTrader, full desktop, and mobile versions.
The desktop version is the one that guarantees a full trading experience. MT4, as popular and complex as it is, only takes a few seconds to download on any reasonably fast connection.
VTMarkets’ MT4 is a fully customizable trading environment, which allows traders to adopt any strategy that they wish and automate it through Expert Advisors.
MT4’s charting capabilities are second to none. The platform supports three chart types and up to nine time-frames for proper technical analysis. In VTMarkets’ case, the platform features 70 tradable assets, covering FX pairs, as well as various commodities and indices.
In what other ways does VTMarkets’ MT4 platform stand out?
- It offers superb order execution. The broker uses a proprietary MT4 bridge and high-performance data centers all over the world to facilitate execution speed.
- Through this platform, traders get superb trading conditions. The spreads on the ECN accounts start from 0.0 pips.
- VTMarkets’ MT4 does not impose any restrictions on your trading style.
Perhaps the most appreciated feature of the platform is that it offers free expert advisors and a VPS service to match the generosity of that offer. When using EAs, the speed of execution depends on the network/servers. According to the VTMarkets website, the broker has built a fiber-optic network that connects its servers, to offer optimal execution speeds. While the connection from the client to the server remains a legacy one, the server-to-server fiber-optic network can still hasten execution.
The WebTrader mimics the functionalities of the full desktop MT4, in a browser-based package. The compatibility of the platform is great. It allows users to access it from more than 5 different browsers. And it copes well with the expectations of the modern trader.
It offers great charting, a decent package of technical indicators for analysis, off-the-chart trading, etc.
In addition to the WebTrader, VTMarkets’ MT4 is also available in mobile versions for iOS and Android devices.
As far as trading tools go, in addition to its Expert Advisors, the broker also lists a Forex signal service. Through this service, experts of the broker deliver actionable trading recommendations in an easy-to-read format. The service uses the expertise of signal services such as MetaQuotes, Acceage, and Trading Central.
The broker’s Economic Calendar is a great tool for fundamental analysis. It lists all major upcoming economic events, as well as the impact these events are likely to have on the markets.
Asset Classes
Tradable assets-wise, VTMarkets may not host the best offer in existence, but it does a decent job in this regard as well.
Its asset classes cover:
- Forex.
- Indices.
- Energy.
- Precious metals.
- Soft commodities.
- US shares CFDs.
- HK shares CFDs.
The Forex selection, presumably the most popular asset class of the broker, comprises more than 40 currency pairs.
The spreads on Forex products start from 0.0 pips and the maximum leverage is 1:500. Such trading conditions might explain why most users like to stick to this asset class.
Forex accounts are available in ECN and STP versions. In both cases, the broker uses a no dealing desk (NDD) approach to facilitating trading.
In regards to indices, VTMarkets covers exactly 10 tradable assets. The maximum leverage available on indices is 1:200.
The energies section covers oil and natural gas, allowing clients to trade oil with zero monthly rollover charges.
The broker only allows the trading of shares through CFDs.
Commissions and Fees
The low spreads it charges are among the main selling points of the broker. How low are this spreads, though?
On an STP account, spreads on major currency pairs such as the EUR/USD start from 1.3 pips.
On a Raw ECN account, spreads on the same currency pair start from 0.0 pips.
The broker does charge commissions on all the tradable assets it offers. The size of these commissions depends on the tradable asset as well as the trade size. On one lot (100,000 base currency) involving the USD, the broker charges $3 ($6 round turn).
Research and Education
| Feature | VT Markets |
|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | |
| Forex News | |
| AutoChartist | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | |
| Delkos Research | |
| Acuity Trading | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | |
| Client Webinars | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | |
| Economic Calendar | |
| Calendar Includes Forexcasts | |
| Economic News Sentiment | |
| Trade Ideas - Backtesting |
The education section of the broker does not go overboard by any measure. It consists of a Daily Market Analysis feature.
The market analysis is quite exhaustive, probably in-line with what an average trader might need. It will probably not satisfy the needs of a professional trader, however.
Customer Service
Traders can contact the VTMarkets customer service through a dedicated email address (info@vtmarkets.com). There is also a live chat service for those in need of real-time help.
The broker has a full, secure client portal.
Mobile
| Feature | VT Markets |
|---|---|
| Android App | |
| Apple App | |
| Charting - Draw Trend Lines | |
| Charting - Can Turn Horizontally | |
| Charting - Technical Studies/Indicators | |
| Watchlist - Syncing | |
| Trading - Forex CFDs | |
| Trading - CFDs | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields |
In addition to the mentioned versions of MT4, the broker has made the platform available in Android and iOS versions as well.
Both mobile trading apps convey the strengths of the platform well. They offer outstanding charting, great execution speeds, and excellent trading conditions. The mobile apps feature a full selection of tradable assets.
Users can download both apps for free, directly from the official site of the broker.
Conclusion
Based on its STP and ECN offers, the broker looks like a safe and reliable trading destination. VTMarkets does not act as a marker maker and thus it does not trade against its clients in any form.
The platform selection of the broker is solid, though its offer could be a bit more generous on the education front.