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Last Updated On August 20, 2024
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GKFX Prime will appeal to traders looking for a regulated MetaTrader broker with copy trading functionality, VPS hosting services, and a good selection of analysis tools. GKFX Prime’s trading costs are generally higher than average, but only one of its four account types requires a minimum deposit.
Founded in 2012, GKFX Prime is a well-regulated market maker with four live accounts on the MT4 and MT5 platforms. GKFX offers the MT4/MT5 Boost, a plugin that provides additional functionality to the trading platforms. It also offers Autochartist and Trading Central for free, two of the best technical analysis tools in the industry. A free VPS service is provided to traders who deposit 4,000 USD or more, and for traders interested in copy trading, GKFX Prime offers Zulutrade and Myfxbook Autotrade.
Trading costs are higher than average on three of GKFX Prime’s accounts, but there are no minimum deposit requirements. However, trading costs on its commission-free VIP Variable Account are extremely competitive, at 0.6 pips on the EUR/USD in exchange for a minimum deposit of 5,000 USD, which may appeal to more experienced traders.
While GKFX Prime’s educational and market analysis materials are not as comprehensive or in-depth as some of the larger international brokers, it will still be useful for both beginners and more experienced traders.
🏦 Min. Deposit | USD 50 |
🛡️ Regulated By | MFSA, B.V.I FSC, SECC |
💵 Trading Cost | USD 18 |
⚖️ Max. Leverage | 1000:1 |
💹 Copy Trading | Yes |
🖥️ Platforms | MT4, MT5 |
💱 Instruments | Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Stock CFDs, Forex, Indices |
Yes, GKFX Prime is a safe broker for South African traders to trade with. It maintains regulation from a number of authorities, including the UK’s FCA, the SECC of Cambodia, the FSC of the British Virgin Islands, and the FSA of Malta.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, GKFX Prime is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Malta, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK, and the Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands (FSC BVI). See below for details on GKFX Prime’s subsidiaries:
South Africans will be trading under the subsidiary, International Finance House Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands FSC provides less regulatory oversight than those of the EU and Australia, and although it requires brokers to keep client funds in segregated accounts, it does not require brokers to offer negative balance protection or restrict leverage to protect their traders.
However, while GKFX Prime segregates all client funds from its operational account, it does not offer its traders negative balance protection. Additionally, GKFX Prime offers high leverage to its clients – up to 1000:1 on some of its account types. It also has no minimum deposit requirements on three of its accounts, which means for traders who deposit small amounts, it will be difficult to hold a substantial trading position without getting stopped out and losing the money in their trading account, and possibly going into a negative balance.
Awards
GKFX Prime has won numerous awards since its inception, including:
Overall, considering its history of responsible behaviour, strong international regulation, and wide industry acclaim, GKFX Prime is a safe broker to trade with. However, traders should be aware of the high leverage, low minimum deposit requirements, and lack of negative balance protection, which could see their trading accounts wiped out or even incur a negative balance.
GKFX Prime’s trading fees are higher than other similar brokers.
GKFX Prime offers three commission-free accounts and an ECN account with tighter spreads and a commission per lot. There are no minimum deposit requirements on three of its accounts, but to open a VIP Variable Account, traders need to make a deposit of at least 5,000 USD (for more on GKFX’s accounts, click here).
GKFX Prime’s accounts were assessed to compare the costs to those of other brokers. When making this calculation, we use one lot of EUR/USD as a benchmark as it is the most commonly traded currency pair and it usually has the tightest spread. In a welcome show of transparency, GKFX Prime publishes its average spreads alongside each financial instrument for all of its account types.
The costs were evaluated based on the trading fees on one lot (100 000 USD) on the EUR/USD, including the spread and commission:
Spread x Trade Size + Commission = Total Trading Cost (USD):
As you can see from the table above, the trading costs on the VIP Variable Account are lower than the costs on the other three accounts and are lower than those charged by other brokers on similar accounts. However, traders need to maintain a minimum account balance of 5,000 USD, which puts it only within the reach of serious beginners or more experienced traders.
The trading costs on the other three accounts are higher than average – the cost for trading one lot of EUR/USD among similar brokers is about 9 USD per lot.
Swap Fees
The other trading costs to consider are the swap fees for positions held overnight. The swap/rollover fee is the interest rate difference between two currencies of the Forex pair you are trading. Clients pay and earn interest for both currencies (for borrowing one and lending the other). You are subject to overnight financing only if your positions are open past 10 pm UK time (GMT 22:00).
Depending on the pair, volume, and the order type (long or short), your accounts will be charged or credited at rollover time automatically. Please note that accounts are charged/credited for 3 days at spot value on Wednesdays or Fridays, depending on the product. GKFX Prime publishes all swap fees alongside each instrument on its website. For example, the swap rates on 1 lot of EUR/USD are -5.40 for a long position and +0.35 for a short position.
Overall, GKFX Prime’s trading fees are higher than average on three of its accounts, and lower than average on its VIP Variable Account, but this requires a minimum deposit of 5,000 USD.
GKFX Prime’s non-trading fees are lower than those charged by other similar brokers.
Some of the most overlooked trading costs are the non-trading fees that are charged by brokers. These fees can significantly affect your profitability and so should be carefully scrutinised.
However, at GKFX Prime no fees are charged for deposits or withdrawals, and GKFX Prime does not charge inactivity fees on dormant accounts. This is a welcome development in an industry that charges fees on most transactions.
GKFX Prime has a fast and hassle-free account opening process, with quick verification.
South African traders are eligible to open an account at GKFX Prime. While there are no minimum deposit requirements on three of its accounts, traders must maintain a balance of 5,000 USD to open a VIP Variable Account.
GKFX Prime offers both corporate and individual accounts, but we will outline the process for opening an individual account:
We suggest you read GKFX Primes risk disclosure, customer agreement, and terms of business before you start trading.
Overall, GKFX Prime’s account-opening process is quick, efficient, and accounts are generally ready for trading within a matter of hours.
GKFX Prime offers four live accounts and a demo account, which is more than other brokers, and the accounts are suited to both beginners and more experienced traders.
GKFX Prime offers trading on five different instruments, including Forex, commodities, indices, stocks, and cryptocurrencies (click here for more on GKFX Prime’s tradable instruments). GKFX Prime offers four live accounts and a demo account, and three of the accounts have no minimum deposit requirements.
The fact that there are no minimum deposit requirements on three of GKFX Prime’s accounts makes them accessible to beginner traders. We define beginner traders as inexperienced traders who have never traded before or have been trading for less than a year. Beginners often do not want to risk trading large sums of money, and will generally not be able to trade full-time during the workweek.
However, experienced traders generally prefer paying higher minimum deposits in exchange for tighter spreads. GKFX Prime’s VIP Variable Accounts has an extremely tight spread, averaging at 0.6 pips on the EUR/USD and no commissions are charged. However, this is in exchange for a minimum deposit of 5,000 USD, making it only accessible to more experienced traders.
Again, it should be emphasized that because GKFX Prime has no minimum deposit requirements on three of its accounts, offers leverage of up to 1000:1, and offers no negative balance protection, it will be difficult for traders to hold a substantial trading position without getting stopped out and losing the money in their trading account and possibly even going into a negative balance.
Traders can choose between the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms and GKFX Prime allows all trading strategies, including hedging, scalping, and copy trading. It also offers swap-free accounts. See below for account details:
A commission-free trading account, fixed spreads start at 1.80 pips pips on the EUR/USD, which is wider than other similar brokers. There are no minimum deposit requirements and leverage is up to 1000:1. Trading is available on over 43 FX pairs and the maximum trading volume is up to 100 lots.
The Standard Variable account is, as the name suggests, a variable spread account with spreads starting at 1.2 pips on the EUR/USD, which is still wider than other similar brokers. Trading is offered on 47 FX pairs, leverage is up to 1000:1, and there are no minimum deposit requirements. A maximum of 100 lots can be traded.
The VIP Variable Account is a commission-free account and offers variable spreads starting at 0.6 pips on the EUR/USD, which is tighter than other similar brokers but this is in exchange for a much higher minimum deposit – of 5000 USD. The maximum leverage is only up to 400:1, trading is offered on 47 FX pairs, and the maximum trade volume is 100 lots,
GKFX Prime’s only ECN account, variable spreads start at 0.0 pips on the EUR/USD which is tighter than most other brokers, the maximum trading volume is 100 lots, and leverage is up to 1000:1. The account offers trading on 48 FX pairs, and a commission of 10 USD round turn per lot is charged, which is higher than the commissions at other brokers.
GKFX Prime offers a free unlimited demo account where users can practice trading on MT4/MT5 platforms with zero risks. Virtual funds of up to 100,000 USD/EUR/GBP are loaded onto the demo accounts.
An optional swap-free or Islamic account option is available for all traders by request. Some small differences separate it from the standard account, but much of the details are the same.
There is no minimum deposit, and leverage is still available up to 1:400 but spreads start at 2.5 pips on this account, and a commission of 10 USD/lot per day is charged on all positions that are open for more than five consecutive nights.
The wider spreads are in place to make up for the revenue lost by the broker that would have been gained by charging interest for holding the positions overnight.
GKFX offers an average number of deposit and withdrawal methods, and while no commissions are charged, GKFX Prime takes a long time to process withdrawal requests.
A well-regulated broker, GKFX Prime does not process payments to third parties. All withdrawal requests from a trading account must go to a bank account or a source in the trader’s name.
Deposits and withdrawals are accepted via bank transfers, credit cards, local banks, and e-wallets. No deposit or withdrawal fees are charged. Most deposit methods are instant. Withdrawals by bank transfer take anywhere from 1 to 5 business days, depending on the country, and 3 – 5 business days for credit card transfers. Credit card deposits may cause minor additional charges due to exchange rate differences.
Bonuses
At the time of writing, there are a few bonuses and promotions available for South African clients:
GKFX Prime offers four base currencies, which is limited compared to other brokers, and South African traders will also be disappointed that there is no ZAR trading account option.
At GKFX Prime, traders can only choose from four base currencies: USD, GBP, EUR, and JPY. This is limited compared to most other international brokers, and is disappointing for South Africans who will likely have bank accounts denominated in ZAR and will have to pay conversion fees on all deposits and withdrawals. Conversion fees can make trading expensive, and are usually not presented on the fee report, but affect profitability.
For traders that trade in large volumes (more than 10 lots a month), it is better to open an account denominated in USD at a digital currency bank, especially for trading on assets such as the EUR/USD. This is because when trading a USD quoted currency pair with a ZAR account, there will be a small conversion fee for every trade made.
Overall, GKFX Prime offers fewer trading account currencies than most other large international brokers and doesn’t offer accounts denominated in ZAR.
GKFX Prime offers two trading platforms, which is average compared to other similar brokers.
GKFX Prime offers trading on the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) platforms. While MT4 and MT5 are both excellent trading platforms, many other CFD brokers also offer their own web-based platforms, which tend to be easier to use for beginner traders. On the other hand, the benefit of GKFX Prime offering third-party platforms such as MT4 and MT5 is that traders can take their own customised version of the platform with them should they choose to migrate to another broker. Additionally, there are thousands of plugins and tools available for the MetaTrader platforms.
MetaTrader 4
MT4 has established itself as the industry standard, and is widely recognised for its fast execution speeds, range of charting tools, algorithmic trading, and customisability. Other features of GKFX Prime’s MT4 include:
MetaTrader 5
Continuing its predecessor’s reputation, the MT5 platform provides traders with everything they need to trade the financial markets. It incorporates all of the key features of MT4 and an optimised environment for EA trading. Features include:
Overall, although GKFX Prime only offers the Metatrader suite of platforms, which are not as beginner-friendly as the proprietary platforms offered at other brokers, MT4 and MT5 are considered some of the best third-party platforms in the industry.
GKFX Prime’s mobile trading platforms are average compared to other similar brokers.
GKFX Prime offers support for MT4 and MT5 mobile trading apps for Android and iOS. Traders should be aware that there is some loss in functionality when compared to the desktop trading platforms, including reduced time frames and fewer charting options, but traders can close and modify existing orders, calculate profit and loss, and trade on the charts.
GKFX Prime’s trading tools are excellent compared to other similar brokers.
GKFX offers a number of useful trading tools, including Autochartist, Trading Central, a VPS service, the MT4/MT5 Booster tools, in addition to the Autotrade and Zulutrade Apps for social trading. It also offers the PAMM account management system.
Autochartist
Autochartist is an award-winning automated technical analysis tool that works with MT4 and identifies trading opportunities across hundreds of financial instruments. Autochartist is free to all GKFX Prime clients.
Autochartist’s advanced recognition engine identifies the strongest potential trading opportunities and predicts future price movements. Some of Autochartist’s key features are:
Autochartist is one of the best technical analysis tools on the market, and GKFX Prime does well to offer this tool to its clients.
Trading Central
Trading Central is a tool that provides a technical market analysis from third-party industry experts. Trading Central’s top-notch indicators help guide client trades through an easy-to-access platform. It is intuitive, scans the market for opportunities 24/7, and provides comprehensive analysis and a constant notification alert system. Overall, Trading Central is an excellent analysis tool.
VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting
According to its website, GKFX has developed its own VPS hosting service – a private platform, reserved for select clients, who can access it remotely. The server works day and night, executing orders and running automated strategy robots.
There are three different VPS packages available at GKFX Prime:
VPS services ensure trades are never disrupted by technological or connectivity issues, such as load-shedding or internet service failure, which is a benefit to algorithmic traders who need to be connected to a server 24/7 to maximise uptime.
MT4/MT5 Booster
Designed to enhance the MT4 and MT5 platforms, the Booster comes with 9 add-ons, including new charts, indicators and UI options to optimize trading performance. The package is available for all retail clients who deposit at least 2,500 USD. A few of the tools are highlighted below:
PAMM
GKFX Prime’s PAMM service allows traders to invest in proven strategies executed by expert traders and take a share of the profit. Benefits of using the PAMM system include:
Zulutrade
Zulutrade allows traders to place automatic trades with highly customized settings. It is a peer-to-peer social trading platform. The platform is designed to be user-friendly and requires no prior trading experience. ZuluTrade users can select the traders they want to follow using the Performance Table that algorithmically ranks traders based on plenty of important performance factors. Traders with higher minimum deposits can access Zulutrade for free, but traders will have to contact GKFX Prime directly to find out more.
Myfxbook Autotrade
Myfxbook Autotrade is also available to users who make a higher minimum deposit. With Myfxbook Autotrade, traders do not need to build their own strategy or conduct research on the forex markets. This tool provides the opportunity to copy a wide selection of systems directly to GKFX Prime’s MT4 trading account. One of the other benefits of the Myfxbook Autotrade copy trading platform is its functionality. It offers multiple copy trading modes and there is no limit on the number of Strategy Providers that can be followed.
On the whole, copy trading is useful for traders who are interested in the financial markets but lack the experience and knowledge.
GKFX Prime offers a limited range of tradable assets compared to other large international brokers.
GKFX Prime’s range of financial instruments for CFD trading (click here for more details on CFD trading), includes Forex, share CFDs, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices.
Overall, GKFX Prime offers a limited range of tradable instruments on MT4 and MT5, which may leave more experienced traders dissatisfied.
GKFX provides a comprehensive and well-structured selection of educational materials. It also provides a daily news update and weekly market analysis videos. Educational materials are presented in both written and video formats.
GKFX Prime’s educational videos and articles are organised into beginner, trader, and expert categories:
GKFX Prime also offers a free downloadable e-book and regular webinars and seminars. Webinars and seminars are educational in nature and also allow traders to expand their professional networks.
While GKFX Prime’s educational content is not as broad or in-depth as the best trading educators, like BDSwiss or IG Markets, it is still better than most market maker brokers and will be useful for both beginners and experienced traders.
The market analysis materials available at GKFX Prime are limited compared to other brokers.
GKFX Prime offers a daily selection of major news and articles that explain the current market sentiment. These articles are curated by the GKFX Prime in-house research team, and although the articles are brief, the information is relevant and insightful.
The weekly videos are created by a team of analysts that explain the highlights of the past week and financial market expectations of the upcoming week.
GKFX Prime’s customer support is available via email, inline contact form, telephone, and live chat. Support is available 24 hours a day, from 10 pm Sunday – 10 pm Friday. The website is available in nine languages.
We found the customer support largely unresponsive – we could not get answers to our questions via email, and the live chat feature was not functional.
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 GKFX Prime product 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.
Trading Forex is risky, and each broker is required to detail how risky the trading of Forex CFDs is to clients. GKFX Prime would like you to know that: All financial products traded on margin carry a high degree of risk to your capital. They are not suited to all investors, and you can lose more than your initial deposit. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent advice if necessary.
GKFX Prime is a well-regulated market maker broker offering multi-asset trading on four live accounts on the top industry platforms. The trading costs on most of its accounts are higher than average, but there are no minimum deposit requirements making them accessible to beginner traders. Trading costs improve in its VIP Variable Account, but this is in exchange for a high minimum deposit requirement of 5,000 USD.
The educational materials are comprehensive, though not as good as the best brokers in this space, and its market analysis materials are lacking. However, traders can access a range of useful trading tools, including Autochartist, Trading Central, a VPS service, and various copy trading platforms, some of which are available at an extra cost. Lastly, South Africans should be aware that negative balance protection is not available, and in combination with the high leverage and low minimum deposits, could see their accounts wiped out or go into a negative balance.
Chris joined the company in 2019 after ten years experience in research, editorial and design for political and financial publications. His background has given him a deep knowledge of international financial markets and the geopolitics that affects them. Chris has a keen eye for editing and a voracious appetite for financial and political current affairs. He ensures that our content across all sites meets the standards of quality and transparency that our readers expect.
Alison joined the team as a writer in 2021. She is the Senior Editor for FXScouts. She has a medical degree with a focus on physiotherapy and a bachelor’s in psychology. However, her interest in forex trading and her love for writing led her to switch careers. She has a passion for Forex trading and over a decade of editorial experience researching Forex and the financial services industry, producing high-quality content. She hosts a weekly podcast, “Let’s Talk Forex,” alongside her colleague, Chris, and has produced over 100 Forex educational videos for the FXScouts YouTube channel. She also writes weekly technical analyses and has tested and reviewed over 100 Forex brokers.
Ida joined our team as a financial writer in 2023. She has a degree in Digital Marketing and a background in content writing and SEO. In addition to her marketing and writing skills, Ida also has an interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks. Her interest in crypto trading led to a wider fascination with Forex technical analysis and price movement. She continues to develop her skills and knowledge in Forex trading and keeps a close eye on which Forex brokers offer the best trading environments for new traders.
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