ThinkMarkets Review 2023

ThinkMarkets is a forex and CFD broker that offers FCA regulated trading services to UK-based and international clients. This 2023 broker review covers crucial components of the firm’s services, such as minimum deposit and withdrawal amounts, investment markets, available leverage rates and account types. Read on to find out whether ThinkMarkets is suitable for you.

About ThinkMarkets

Since its launch in 2010, the ThinkMarkets group has offered CFD speculation services to traders worldwide. The broker has two headquarters from which it operates, the first in Melbourne, Australia and the other is a UK London office.

Regulated by the FCA, ASIC and FSCA, the broker has earned a reputation for reliability over its decade of operation. The company has recently announced the news of an imminent IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), allowing investors to purchase direct shares in the firm.

Markets

Beyond forex pairs, ThinkMarkets offers CFDs in a wide range of markets, including indices, ETFs, stocks and commodities. Additionally, the broker provides a small selection of spread betting markets for UK tax-advantaged trading.

Forex

ThinkMarkets offers 46 CFD and 27 spread betting products on major, minor and exotic currency pairs.

Spreads start at 0.0 pips when using the ThinkZero ECN-style account and 0.4 pips on EUR/USD with a standard commission-free STP account. The minimum position size for retail clients is 0.01 lots, while maximum trade limits vary depending on the market.

Indices

Trading index instruments allows investors to speculate on the markets of specific global regions, such as the UK and US. ThinkMarkets provides 17 CFD, eight spread betting and four futures indices products, including the UK FTSE 100, Australian ASX 200 and US VIX 70.

The lowest index target spread is for the S&P 500 at 0.34 pips, though spreads are floating vary throughout the trading day.

Share & ETF CFDs

ThinkMarkets has thousands of global stocks and ETFs for investors to choose from. Clients can speculate on individual companies through share CFDs and access leveraged long or short options on industry sectors through ETFs.

Equities are available from the ASX, FTSE 100 and South African and Hong Kong exchanges. Spreads will differ significantly between different assets and can be located within any supported trading platform.

Commodities CFDs

ThinkMarkets provides a wide range of commodities markets, including soft commodities futures such as cotton and coffee, energies like crude oil and natural gas and precious metals such as gold and platinum.

Average spreads on the Gold Zero market, available through the ThinkZero account, stand at 6 cents, while all three energy markets start at 0.3 pips.

Cryptocurrency

Due to FCA regulations, ThinkMarkets no longer offers crypto markets to UK clients.

Leverage

As an FCA regulated brokerage, ThinkMarkets is limited in the leverage it can offer to retail clients.

The highest margin level available is 1:30 on major forex pairs, while minor and exotic pairs have leverage rates of up to 1:20. 1:20 leverage is also available on major global indices and gold markets.

A margin of 1:10 can be utilised on all other indices and commodity markets. Share and ETF CFDs range from 1:10 to 1:1, depending on the asset.

ThinkMarkets has a margin call level of 50%, leading to forced liquidation of the position, which is significantly higher than some non-FCA regulated competitors.

Account Types

One of ThinkMarkets’ strengths is its support for both STP and ECN-style account types.

The standard account uses the STP execution model for zero-commission trading. This account supports MT4, MT5 and the ThinkTrader trading platform and has no minimum account balance. Average spreads for forex pairs are 1.2 pips and 25 cents on commodities markets.

The ThinkZero account uses the ECN execution system to offer forex spreads from 0.0 pips and metals spreads from 8 cents for those who favour tighter spreads. Commissions are charged at £2.50 per side per lot and this account type requires a £500 minimum account balance.

Other Accounts

ThinkMarkets investors who cannot pay interest on positions due to religious beliefs can apply for a swap-free Islamic account. Joint accounts are also available for those who wish to share an account between two or more individuals.

Want to practice your trading strategy using live market data in real-time? The broker provides a free demo account in which clients can use the MetaTrader 4 or 5 platform with digital funds in a simulated environment.

Trading Platforms

ThinkMarkets offers three trading platforms, aiming to suit the needs of every client. These are MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and ThinkTrader, the broker’s proprietary platform.

MT4 has been the industry standard for forex and CFD brokers for over a decade. It remains a powerful tool with excellent customisability and automated trading integration via EAs. MT5 builds on its predecessor’s success and provides more indicators and charting tools as standard, an updated programming language and support for additional assets. Note that some assets such as shares and ETF CFDs are only available on MT5 and ThinkTrader.

MetaTrader 4

ThinkTrader is the in-house trading platform offered by ThinkMarkets. The system is a browser-based web trader, also offering a mobile app and a desktop platform to download, featuring over 140 indicators and drawing tools and several advanced features such, as customisable alerts and one-click order execution.

ThinkTrader

Mobile App

More and more brokers like ThinkMarkets are providing mobile apps to enable clients to login from anywhere and monitor their positions on the go. Clients can download MT4, MT5 and ThinkTrader dedicated applications on Android (APK) and Apple (iOS) to keep up with the markets wherever they are.

Trading Fees

ThinkMarkets provides traders with the choice between zero commission trading and tighter ECN-style spreads. The latter charges commission of £2.50 per side per lot on all markets, other than share CFDs.

Swap rates are different for each asset and can be found on the broker’s website or any supported trading platform. The firm does not levy inactivity fees for dormant accounts.

Deposit & Withdrawal Fees

While there are no funding fees for most payment methods, services such as Skrill and Neteller may charge fees not covered by ThinkMarkets. Additionally, international wire funding is subject to a $25 fee.

Payment Methods

ThinkMarkets provides several options for funding an account: bank wire transfer, Visa or MasterCard card payment, Neteller and Skrill. Six global currencies are supported, including GBP, USD and EUR.

There is no minimum deposit enforced by the broker, nor any charges for funding your account with any of the deposit methods. Deposit times range from instant for card payments up to 24 hours for the two supported e-wallets and 1-3 business days for bank wire transfers.

ThinkMarkets withdrawals can take up to 24 hours to process and an additional 1-7 working days to settle, depending on the method used. While the firm does not charge for withdrawals, any e-wallet or bank fees are borne by the user rather than the broker, which can be up to $25 for international wire transfers. In addition, the broker enforces a minimum withdrawal amount of $100 or equivalent.

Security & Regulation

The safety of client funds and personal information is of great importance to traders and brokers alike, with a company’s reputation especially significant in an industry where scams are commonplace. ThinkMarkets provides two-factor authentication (2FA) to help investors protect access to their client portal.

The broker is also regulated by six respected global watchdogs: the FCA in the UK, CySEC in Cyprus, JFSA in Japan, FSA in the Seychelles, ASIC in Australia and FSCA in South Africa. Moreover, the FSCS fund protection scheme protects UK clients for up to £85,000. Likewise, the ICF compensation scheme may protect EU clients for up to €20,000. ThinkMarkets’ insurance policy offers an additional £1 million of cover, which may reassure traders of the brokerage’s commitment to safety.

The platform also offers its clients negative balance protection, so that, even in the event of a margin call, clients cannot lose more than their account balance.

The broker’s FCA register number is 629628.

Customer Support

A reliable and experienced customer support team provides users with peace of mind when trading and ThinkMarkets offers several methods to contact this help team.

The company has a UK-based support phone number routed to the London office, a dedicated email address and a live chat service available 24/7. The broker also has an active social media presence on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, where traders may be able to receive help.

Clients suffering from trouble with their login or withdrawing funds may also be able to resolve their problems with information from the website FAQ section.

• Email Address: support@thinkmarkets.com
• Phone Number: +44 203 514 2374

Educational Content

ThinkMarkets has a dedicated “learn to trade” section filled with tutorials on placing trades, video guides to financial markets for beginners and live webinars for investors to boost their knowledge. A glossary of trading terms like slippage and leverage supplements can also be found in this section, which has useful information for everyone, whether beginner to pro.

Additional Features

ThinkMarkets provides several extra features to help its clients thrive in the financial markets. One such feature is the free VPS hosting from ForexVPS for users that trade over 15 round lots of forex per calendar month. This helps to speed up execution times for automated trading strategies, running 24/7 on a dedicated server, rather than your computer.

The brokerage website also features an economic calendar, where investors can find news on upcoming market events like earnings reports and dividend payments.

For those that wish to emulate the positions of high ranking traders, ThinkMarkets also offers copy trading support via ZuluTrade.

Advantages Of ThinkMarkets

• FCA regulated
• Demo accounts
• Islamic accounts
• MT4 & MT5 access
• ECN & STP accounts
• CFDs & spread betting
• Large range of markets
• Solid education section
• ZuluTrade copy trading

Disadvantages Of ThinkMarkets

• Limited leverage rates
• Limited funding methods
• £100 minimum withdrawal
• No promotions or bonus schemes
• £500 account minimum for ThinkZero accounts

Trading Hours

ThinkMarkets facilitates clients to trade on its platforms within the 24/5 opening hours of the forex markets, though these may differ on holidays. However, markets such as indices, ETFs and share CFDs follow their local exchange trading hours. The broker does not support out of hours trading.

ThinkMarkets clients can login to their accounts via the client portal or through the ThinkTrader app at any time to monitor existing positions or make deposits and withdrawals.

ThinkMarkets Verdict

ThinkMarkets is a reputable forex and CFD broker, supporting a range of investing and trading styles, sitting under strong FCA regulation and boasting a competitive asset range. Moreover, UK-based clients can take advantage of the firm’s spread betting opportunities to take part in tax-free speculation. However, those looking for high leverage rates and enticing bonus offers should look to offshore alternatives.

FAQ

Compare ThinkMarkets with Other Brokers

These brokers are the most similar to ThinkMarkets:

1. Pepperstone - Pepperstone is a leading online broker with over 400,000 clients in more than 175 countries. The top-rated brokerage offers excellent market access, industry-leading platforms in MT4, MT5, TradingView and cTrader, plus low fees with no hidden charges. Pepperstone is also heavily regulated with a high trust score, holding licenses with reputable bodies, including the FCA, ASIC, DFSA, and CySEC.
2. Vantage FX - Founded in 2009, Vantage offers trading on 1000+ short-term CFD products to over 900,000 clients. You can trade Forex CFDs from 0.0 pips on the RAW account through TradingView, MT4 or MT5. Vantage is ASIC-regulated and client funds are segregated. Copy traders will also appreciate the range of social trading tools.
3. Admiral Markets - Admirals is an FCA- and ASIC-regulated broker with an excellent range of leveraged instruments, including forex, stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, cryptos and more. The broker supports the MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradingCentral platforms. With both spread betting and CFDs available and thousands of instruments, this broker provides more flexibility than most rivals.

ThinkMarkets Feature Comparison

Trading Instruments Comparison

ThinkMarkets vs Other Brokers

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