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🏦 Min. Deposit | USD 500 |
🛡️ Regulated By | CySEC, FSC, DFSA |
💵 Trading Cost | USD 24 |
⚖️ Max. Leverage | 500:1 |
💹 Copy Trading | Yes |
🖥️ Platforms | MT4 |
💱 Instruments | Cryptocurrencies, Energies, Stock CFDs, Forex, Indices, Metals |
Last Updated On August 20, 2024
75-90% of retail traders lose money trading Forex and CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs and leveraged trading work and if you can afford the high risk of losing your money. We may receive compensation when you click on links to products we review. Please read our advertising disclosure. By using this website, you agree to our Terms of Service.
With a range of useful trading tools and a large set of Forex pairs, TrioMarkets may appeal to experienced traders looking for a new MT4 broker, though trading costs are extremely high on all account options.
An ECN/STP broker, Triomarkets offers trading on 60+ Forex pairs, cryptocurrencies, metals, indices, shares, energies, and commodities. With four live accounts, TrioMarkets’ commission-free entry-level account has a minimum deposit of 500 USD, but very wide spreads (2.40 pips on the EUR/USD). Spreads tighten to 0 pips on its Premium Account – with a relatively high commission of 8 USD (round turn) – but this account requires a minimum deposit of 50,000 USD, making it inaccessible to most traders.
TrioMarkets only supports the MT4 trading platform, but it does offer various powerful trading tools. TrioExtend is an MT4 plugin that features sophisticated alarms and messaging systems, technical analysis tools, and live sentiment and correlation tracking. TrioMarkets also offers a social trading platform, FIX API, a VPS hosting service, and MAM/PAMM accounts.
TrioMarkets provides little in the way of educational and market analysis materials and customer support is also largely unresponsive and unavailable, making it a poor choice for beginner traders.
🏦 Min. Deposit | USD 500 |
🛡️ Regulated By | CySEC, FSC, DFSA |
💵 Trading Cost | USD 24 |
⚖️ Max. Leverage | 500:1 |
💹 Copy Trading | Yes |
🖥️ Platforms | MT4 |
💱 Instruments | Cryptocurrencies, Energies, Stock CFDs, Forex, Indices, Metals |
TrioMarkets, founded in 2015 and regulated by the FCA and CySEC, offers trading on various instruments including 60+ Forex pairs, cryptocurrencies, and more, exclusively on the MT4 platform. Despite offering a social trading platform, and a variety of accounts, its high trading costs, limited educational resources, and poor customer support make it less appealing for beginners. Considering these factors, FxScouts rates TrioMarkets a low 3.68 out of 5.
Yes, TrioMarkets is a safe broker to trade with. With regulation from the world’s top regulators, including the UK’s FCA, CySEC of Cyprus, the ACPR of France, Germany’s BaFin, CONSOB of Italy, the CNMV of Spain, and the FSC of Mauritius.
Founded in 2014, TrioMarkets is a brand of EDR Financial Ltd, headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus. It is regulated by many top-tier regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Banque de France (ACPR), Germany’s Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin), Italy’s Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), Spain’s Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius. See below for more details:
South African traders will be trading under the subsidiary, TrioMarkets (Global), authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius, which allows brokers to offer their clients higher leverage.
Unlike top-tier regulators such as the FCA and ASIC, the FSC does not mandate that companies segregate client funds, provide negative balance protection, or participate in investor schemes. TrioMarkets does, however, segregate client funds from its operating capital in various banking institutions, and will not use customers’ funds in its operation or any other investment, ensuring their protection at all times. Note that negative balance protection is available on a discretionary basis, and requests are evaluated case by case.
TrioMarkets stays out of the limelight in the Forex trading industry and does not engage in marketing activities like award shows, and has thus not won any awards. That said, it has a good reputation among professional traders, and from our industry contacts and experience, we believe TrioMarkets to be a safe broker.
With four live market execution accounts, TrioMarkets’ trading fees are higher than other similar brokers.
Like most other brokers, TrioMarkets offers a range of accounts with higher deposits linked to tighter spreads.
Despite the variation, overall trading costs are higher than average across all four accounts, though the accounts themselves do offer more benefits tied to higher minimum deposits. Minimum deposits are higher than average across all the account types too, with the entry-level account requiring 500 USD to open. Most entry-level accounts at other similar brokers will have a 100 USD minimum deposit if they have any requirement at all.
TrioMarkets’ accounts were assessed to compare the costs to those of other forex brokers. The costs were evaluated based on the trading fees on one lot (100 000 USD) on the EUR/USD, including the spreads and commission. Unfortunately, TrioMarkets does not publish the average spreads for each account on its website.
When making this calculation, we used one lot of EUR/USD as a benchmark as it is the most commonly traded currency pair and it usually has the tightest spread.
Trading Cost Formula: Spread x Trade Size + Commission = Cost in Secondary Currency (USD):
As you can see from the table above, TrioMarket’s trading costs are built into the spread on its Zero Commission accounts– though the two ECN accounts have a relatively high commission in exchange for tighter spreads. Spreads are variable at TrioMarkets, meaning that they will get wider or tighter depending on trade volume and market volatility.
Overall, spreads are wider than average at TrioMarkets. The average cost for trading one lot of EUR/USD among similar brokers is about 9 USD per lot. As you can see from the table above, this is only achievable with the Premium Account, which is prohibitively expensive to open for most traders – requiring a minimum deposit of 50,000 USD.
Swap Fees
The other main trading cost to consider is the overnight swap fee. This is charged on trades held open overnight and is derived from the difference between the interest rates of the two currencies being traded. TrioMarkets’ swap rates are published on its website for each financial instrument. TrioMarkets charges swap fees of -4,7748 on the EUR/USD on a long position, and -4,2202 on a short position.
Compared to other similar brokers TrioMarkets’ initial and ongoing costs are high. The minimum deposit on the entry-level account is higher than at other brokers and spreads are wider than average across all account types.
TrioMarkets charges higher than average non-trading fees compared to other ECN/STP brokers, including high deposit fees.
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.
TrioMarkets does not charge account or withdrawal fees, however, it charges relatively high deposit and inactivity fees.
A fee of 3% of the deposit amount is charged for using Neteller, Skrill, and Visa/Mastercard, while deposits via bank transfer incur a cost of 1.5% with a minimum charge of 25 USD, and a maximum of 50 USD. For more on TrioMarkets’ deposit and withdrawal methods, click here.
TrioMarkets also charges high inactivity fees – 30 USD per month after three months of inactivity.
The account opening process at TrioMarkets is user-friendly, fully digital and accounts are ready for trading within one day.
All South African residents are eligible to open an account at TrioMarkets but have to meet the following minimum deposit requirements:
Creating an account is straightforward, the process is fully digital, and accounts are usually ready within one day. TrioMarkets offers individual and company accounts, but we will focus on opening an individual account:
After the application is approved, traders can login and fund their accounts We advise that you read TrioMarkets’ risk disclosure, customer agreement, and terms of business before you start trading.
Overall, TrioMarkets’ account-opening process is fully digital and hassle-free and accounts are generally ready for trading within one business day.
While TrioMarkets offers more account types than most brokers, they have both high minimum deposits and high trading costs – making them unsuitable for beginner traders and unpalatable for experienced traders.
An STP/ECB broker with four live accounts, TrioMarkets offers trading on multiple assets, including Forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, energies, shares, and metals. For more on TrioMarkets tradable assets, click here.
Trading conditions at TrioMarkets are generally poor, with high minimum deposit requirements and high trading costs across all four accounts. Spreads average 2.40 pips pips (EUR/USD) on its entry-level account, which requires a minimum deposit of 500 USD. Not only is this spread wider than most other brokers’ entry-level accounts, but the minimum deposit is also higher. Most brokers will offer an average spread of 1 pip (EUR/USD) and a minimum deposit of 100 USD or less on their entry-level accounts.
It is difficult to find any advantages with TrioMarkets’ accounts, either for experienced or beginner traders. As mentioned above, the entry-level account has both higher initial and ongoing costs than similar accounts at other brokers. In addition, TrioMarkets’ other accounts request very high minimum deposits and don’t deliver the low trading costs that more experienced traders would be looking for.
TrioMarkets offers generous leverage of up to 500:1, but accounts are only denominated in EUR, USD, GBP, or CHF. TrioMarkets allows all trading strategies, including hedging, scalping, and copy trading, but it does not offer Islamic accounts (swap-free). See below for more on TrioMarkets accounts:
TrioMarkets’ entry-level account, the minimum deposit is 500 USD and spreads start at 2.40 pips on the EUR/USD, which is extremely wide compared to other STP/ECN brokers. No commissions are charged on this account.
A commission-free account, the Standard Account is suitable for beginner traders with an extremely high minimum deposit of 5000 USD. Spreads start at 1.4 pips on the EUR/USD, which is still wider than the spreads on most other broker’s entry-level accounts. Additionally, most other brokers have a minimum deposit requirement of around 100 USD, if any at all.
Advanced Account
The Advanced Account is suitable for more experienced traders who want to trade on the raw spread. The minimum deposit requirement on this account is 25,000 USD, which is very high compared to the professional accounts at other brokers. While the minimum spread of 0 pips is about average for an ECN account, the 11 USD round turn commission is very high when compared to other STP/ECN brokers. In addition to the training materials offered on the Standard Account, traders can access a daily market briefing along with free trading signals.
A minimum deposit of 50,000 USD is required to open a Premium Account. Traders are offered better trading conditions – with spreads starting at 0.0 pips on the EUR/USD and a commission of 4 USD/lot per side charged on each trade. Still, this commission is much higher than the industry average. Premium account-holders receive the highest service standards, with a dedicated account manager and access to all educational materials.
TrioMarkets has a demo training account funded with 100,000 USD to sharpen your trading and test your strategies before committing to live trading. TrioMarkets’ demo account is only unlimited once traders open a live account, which is an unusual move on the part of the broker.
Overall, TrioMarkets’s initial and ongoing costs are well above the industry average, making it unappealing to both beginners and more experienced traders alike.
TrioMarkets offers a limited number of funding methods compared to other similar brokers, and both deposits and withdrawals are expensive.
In line with Anti-Money Laundering policies, funds will only be transferred into an account registered in the same name as the TrioMarkets’ account holder.
Payment methods include Bank Wire Transfers, Visa/Mastercard, Skrill, and Neteller. Triomarkets charges a fee of 1.5% per withdrawal with a minimum charge of 25 USD on Bank Wire Transfers. A 3% deposit processing fee is charged on credit card/debit cards (Visa/Mastercard), Skrill, and Neteller payment methods. These are very high fees compared to other similar brokers.
The speed of withdrawals depends on the account type: Standard, Basic and Advanced account-holders have a 24-hour payout period, while Premium account-holders will have a six-hour waiting time. See below for more:
Overall, TrioMarkets has a good range of funding methods, but withdrawal and deposit fees are higher than other similar brokers.
TrioMarkets offers four base currencies, which is limited compared to other similar brokers.
Trading accounts can only be denominated in four base currencies – EUR, USD, CHF, and GBP, which is limited compared to other brokers. Most other brokers denominated accounts in at least five to ten currencies. Additionally, TrioMarkets does not offer ZAR trading accounts, which is a disadvantage for South Africans who will likely have bank accounts denominated in ZAR, and who will have to pay currency conversion fees on deposits and withdrawals.
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, TrioMarkets offers fewer trading account currencies than most other large international brokers and doesn’t offer accounts denominated in ZAR.
With support for MT4 only, TrioMarkets’ trading platform choice is severely limited compared to most other brokers. That said, TrioMarkets does offer the TrioExtend, which substantially enhances the MT4 trading experience.
TrioMarkets offers the MetaTrader 4 platform and the corresponding Web Trader software that loads in a browser. MT4 trading on TrioMarkets is highly customisable, with a range of tools and plugins that can be added to the platform to make it more powerful. For more on TrioMarkets’ trading tools, click here.
Developed by MetaQuotes in 2002, MT4 is still considered one of the best CFD trading platforms in the world. While not the most accessible software for beginners, it provides a seamless transition from one broker to another should trading conditions change.
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:
Note that MT4 is not natively capable of trading stock CFDs, so these are not available at TrioMarkets. For more on TrioMarkets’ financial instruments to trade, click here.
As TrioMarkets only offers MT4, on mobile as well as desktop, the mobile trading experience is limited compared to other brokers.
MT4 is available on both iOS and Android as a downloadable app. The app provides a simple interface for secure trading and integration with TrioMarkets’ accounts.
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.
TrioMarkets’ trading tools are excellent compared to other brokers, with TrioExtend MT4 tools, VPS hosting, MAM/PAMM accounts, and FIX API.
TrioMarkets offers a wide range of useful tools, including premium tools for MT4, known as TrioExtend, VPS hosting, MAM/PAMM accounts, and FIX API.
Trio Extend
The MT4 TrioExtend gives traders access to institutional quality technology, including advanced trading tools, user-configurable news and information, and trade analysis. It also includes an array of sophisticated alarms and messaging systems, and live sentiment and correlation tracking. Features of the package include:
Social Trading
TrioMarkets provides its own proprietary social trading platform. Traders can choose from the top-listed strategy providers in the Marketplace. The Marketplace provides a search tool and a filter function that help traders to determine the Risk Ratio, Maximum Loss, and Profitability of each provider. Strategy providers then take a portion of the profits they generate for each trade. This tool is excellent for beginner traders finding their footing in the world of trading.
FIX (Financial Information Exchange) API (Application Programming Interface) is an electronic communications protocol for financial information exchange.
FIX API allows any trader to connect directly to TrioMarkets’ liquidity pool with minimized latency and cost.
VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting allows Forex traders to use the virtual environment on the hosting company’s servers to run the MetaTrader expert advisors 24 hours a day 7 days a week. VPS services have the advantage of never suffering connectivity issues and have extremely low latency due to their proximity to major international exchanges.
MAM/PAMM
TrioMarkets offers an account management service to its clients which allows account managers to trade on their behalf. In order to perform this service, bespoke technology or software is required, also known as MAM/PAMM. The MAM software communicates all allocation settings directly with the TrioMarkets MetaTrader 4 server.
MAM stands for Multi-Account Manager which permits a range of customisable ways to sub-allocate trades. PAMM stands for Percentage Allocation Module Manager which means investors can be part of a set of sub-accounts that are traded together by a money manager or trader who has permission from clients to trade on their accounts. Account Managers take a portion of the profits generated by the trades.
Unique to TrioMarkets MAM/PAMM accounts is how the equity is allocated:
For example, the trader opens 1 lot on EURUSD with an equity status of 10k, 20k, 30k, 15k, and 25k in each sub-account. PAMM/MAM allocates the 1 lot proportionally to each sub-account as 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.15 and 0.25. This equity method is used because it is solid and easy to implement. There are various advantages to trading forex with a PAMM/MAM application. One of the most unique advantages is slippage interception. Since the sub-accounts only mirror the master account pricing, it is impossible to see price discrepancies. This method guarantees that all sub-trades will be entered from the master trade price.
Overall, TrioMarkets offers a much more comprehensive set of trading tools than is available at other similar brokers.
TrioMarkets’ range of financial instruments to trade is smaller than most other brokers, with no specialty CFDs such as bonds, or ETFs.
While TrioMarkets does offer a selection of CFDs to trade, it only provides support for the MT4 trading platform which is historically and primarily a platform for trading Forex. This shows in TrioMarkets’ relatively limited range of financial instruments:
Forex: TrioMarkets offers 62 currency pairs for trading, including majors (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY) and minors (NZD/CAD, EUR/JPY, and GBP/NZD), and exotics (EUR/NOK, USD/SEK and EUR/ZAR). At TrioMarkets, there are more pairs to trade than most other Forex brokers, and leverage is up to 500:1.
Indices: TrioMarkets offers trading on 10 indices, which is less than other similar brokers, and includes the likes of the Dow Jones, UK100, and SPX500. Leverage is up to 100:1 on indices and both Index Futures and Index Cash CFDs are available.
Metals: TrioMarkets offers 5 metals, which is around the industry average. Metals include gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Maximum leverage on metals is 100:1.
Share CFDs: TrioMarkets’ share CFD offering is limited compared to most of its competitors, with 59 share CFDs available to trade, including popular US tech companies, and more. Leverage is up to 5:1 on share CFDs.
Energies: TrioMarkets offers trading on 3 energies, which is limited compared to other brokers. These include natural gas, Brent Crude, and Crude Oil. Leverage is up to 1:100 on energies.
Cryptocurrencies: TrioMarkets offers a small selection of crypto CFDs to trade including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple. Due to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies, leverage is limited to 2:1.
Apart from the wide selection of Forex pairs, TrioMarkets has a disappointing range of CFDs. This is mostly down to the limitations of the MT4 platform, which cannot connect to international exchanges and therefore does not support specialty CFD trading.
Triomarkets focuses on an experienced trading audience and offers little training material or analysis for beginner traders.
TrioMarkets offers virtually no educational materials, other than a trading glossary. Beginner traders will have to self-educate with third-party materials.
Market Analysis materials are also limited, and TrioMarkets offers a basic Market News section, a Market Calendar, and a Video Chart Analysis section, which helps traders understand how to use technical analysis to spot the best trading entries.
Customer support is available 24/5 via email, telephone, and live chat in 15 different languages. However, telephone support is only offered via a number in Cyprus or the UK.
For the purposes of this review, we found the customer support largely unresponsive and unavailable. The live chat agents virtually never replied to our questions, and customer support via email provided very little response either. We were told that somebody would contact us via telephone, but to date have still not received a callback. It seems, however, that the more advanced your account, the more attentive the service may be.
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 TrioMarkets 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. TrioMarkets would like you to know that: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.6% 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.
TrioMarkets is a reliable STP/ECN broker offering trading on a wide variety of assets, including over 62 Forex pairs. Its trading conditions are relatively poor, with high minimum deposits, wide spreads, and commission costs that are significantly above the industry average. Its educational and market analysis materials are also limited, making it a poor choice for beginner traders.
Although TrioMarkets limits its platform choice to MT4, it offers traders free use of various powerful platform-integrated technical analysis tools, including TrioExtend, a social trading platform, FIX API, and a VPS hosting service to help experienced traders and serious beginners make better trading choices. Overall, TrioMarkets is a safe and dependable broker that focuses more on the professional than the beginner trader.
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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