In this video, we provide an in-depth, but concise, unbiased and independent review of XM – one of our most highly-rated brokers. Check out their features to discover whether XM may be the right Forex broker for your unique trading needs.
If you want a more detailed review of XM, go ahead and click here: Full XM Review
Transcript
Hi, I’m Alison from FXScouts. We are a broker review company that has performed hundreds of reviews. In that process, we have uncovered many bad brokers and scammers, but we have also found some very high-quality brokers that put the trader first. One of these brokers is XM. Today, I will walk you through XM’s features and why we rate them so highly.
So when we start with our review process, the most important thing we look out for is that the broker is well-regulated. Good regulation ensures that your funds are protected and that you are treated fairly. XM is a very well-regulated broker. It is regulated by some of the top authorities in the world, including:
- ASIC in Australia
- CySEC of Cyprus
- The FSCA of South Africa
- The DFSA of Dubai
- The FSC in Belize, through which global traders will be onboarded.
Traders can, therefore, be sure that their funds will be protected and that they will be offered negative balance protection.
Financial Assets
XM also has a vast number of trading instruments – over 1,000 to trade – which is an excellent offering, and traders should find the tradable assets they are looking for.
It has nine asset classes: Forex, cryptos, equities, commodities, metals, energies, real shares, and a new product called turbo stocks. However, traders from the UK and Australia won’t be able to trade on cryptos.
Turbo Stocks are CFD stock products with leverage of up to 1:200 (much more than 10:1 on ordinary stock CFDs). Another difference is that the trading of Turbo Stocks begins at the start of the trading day of the underlying asset and ends at the end of the same day.
Leverage
XM also offers traders very high leverage – depending on your region. Global traders, onboarded through the Belize FSC have access to leverage of up to 1000:1 on Forex pairs, and 500:1 on crypto pairs, which is much higher than other brokers offer, but traders should be aware of trading with such high leverage as while it can increase profits, it can also significantly increase losses.
Accounts and Trading Fees
In terms of accounts and trading fees, XM also excels. It has three CFD trading accounts and a share trading account.
All of XM’s accounts, except its shares account, have a minimum deposit of 5 USD, making them accessible to beginners. No commissions are charged for Forex trading on three of its four accounts, and traders will find spreads of between 0.6 pips and 1.7 pips (EUR/USD), depending on the account.
We also like that it has a Micro Account for beginner traders, meaning they can start trading with smaller amounts of capital. The highlight is the commission-free Ultra Low Account with spreads that start at 0.6 pips (EUR/USD), which is extremely low for the industry. Traders can view all spreads and commissions associated with any instrument here.
Deposits and Withdrawals
We were pleased to find that all deposits and withdrawals are free, except for bank wire transfers, where traders must draw at least 200 USD for a free withdrawal. Deposits took less than an hour to reach our trading account, and withdrawals took two days to reach our bank account.
In line with Anti-Money Laundering policies, XM operates a “return to source policy,” meaning that withdrawals can only be returned to the original funding source. It offers many trading account currencies, meaning that traders have many options for which currency they prefer to open an account.
Deposit and withdrawal methods include Credit and debit cards, bank wire transfers, or local bank transfers, depending on the region, Skrill, Neteller, and other e-wallet transfers, depending on your region.
Trading Platforms
XM has three mobile trading platforms, which is more than other brokers, including MT5, MT4, and the XM App. All of the platforms are available on both Android and iOS.
You can trade directly on the XM mobile app, which links to MT4 and MT5 accounts. The app is easy to set up and use, and it has excellent search functionality and all the technical indicators you find on MT4 and MT5. We also opened XM’s MT4 and MT5 mobile apps, which have similar functionality to the platforms’ desktop and web trader versions.
Only MT4 and MT5 are available as desktop trading platforms, which is pretty standard for the industry. XM could consider offering more variety in trading platforms, like cTrader, TradingView, or its in-house platform to improve its offering.
Research and Technical Analysis
We found that XM has excellent technical analysis tools and that its in-house research data curation far surpasses that of other brokers. It also offers several proprietary trading tools compatible with MT4 and MT5.
Our review noted that XM’s market analysis section consists of a market overview, News, XM Research, Trade Ideas, Technical Summaries, an Economic Calendar, XM TV, and a Podcast. So traders should have no shortage when it comes to finding trading ideas.
Education
We found that XM’s library of educational materials is world-class and on par with some of the best brokers in the world. Education comprises XM Live, Live Education, Educational Videos, Forex Webinars, Platform Tutorials, and Forex Seminars. These materials are in-depth and well-structured. We noted that educational materials are accessible to all XM website visitors, although some sections require registration. See below for more details:
- XM Live: From Monday to Friday 05:00 – 15:00 GMT, visitors can learn about the products and services offered by XM and trading fundamentals, and have all their questions answered by its hosts.
- Live Education: XM offers the Basic Room for beginner traders and the Advanced Room for more experienced traders. Live Education is essentially a series of live webinars that run from Monday to Friday from 07:00 – 16:00 GMT. These webinars cover trading fundamentals and trading session analysis. The Advanced Room also covers topics such as How to Prepare for a Trade, Follow Real-Time Trading, and Live Debates.
Customer Support
Another area where XM shines is it’s customer support. It is available 24/5 in over 30 languages via email, phone, and live chat.
We tested the live chat service and email. Our email was answered within a day, and the answer was relevant and to the point. The live chat agents were able to answer all our questions quickly and to our satisfaction. They also provided links and extra reading material where appropriate.
Overview
A well-regulated market maker broker, XM offers trading on over 1000 instruments, including over 57 Forex pairs. We found XM’s trading conditions are good, with spreads of 1 pip (EUR/USD) on its Standard Account and 0.6 pips (EUR/USD) on its Ultra-Low Account and the minimum deposit requirements are low, at 5 USD across all account options, making it good for beginner traders.
XM also offers trading on the most popular platforms – MT4 and MT5 and allows all trading strategies alongside a world-class repository of educational and market analysis materials and excellent customer service. The only minor drawback is its range of trading platforms.
