Summary

IC Markets is one of the leading CFD brokers with a wide range of financial instruments for clients in Australia and all over the world. It was founded in 2007 in Sydney, Australia by Andrew Budzinski, along with a team of professionals in the financial services industry. The founders established the broker with a plan to “bridge the gap between retail and institutional clients”. Prior to the founding of the company, most financial trading services were only available to investment banks and high net worth individuals. The broker now provides raw spread accounts and great execution speeds to retail traders.

Today, IC Markets, as one of the best online CFD brokers, offers CFDs for seven main asset classes: 60+ forex pairs, 2,100+ stock CFDs, 23+ Indices CFDs, 20+ commodities CFDs, 9+ Bonds CFDs, 20+ cryptocurrencies CFDs, and 3+ global futures CFDs. It is a forex and CFD broker, i.e., you cannot purchase actual securities other than forex using their platforms. The broker offers its forex trading and CFD trading services to countries all over the world except countries like the USA, Canada, North Korea, and other countries where government restrictions and company policies prevent their citizens from opening an account with them. 

The broker is regulated by multiple regulatory bodies like ASIC, CYSEC, FSA and SCB. They are required by regulations from one or more of these bodies to provide a high level of safety to their traders’ funds. For example, CySEC requires them to provide €20,000 or 90% of an investor’s claim (whichever is lower) to every investor in the event of a bankruptcy. They also offer negative balance protection to protect traders from falling in debt while trading CFDs with heavy leverages.

IC Markets has a quick but thorough sign-up process. Traders are required to provide their government ID cards for verification before they can be allowed to open an account at IC Markets. After satisfying the requirements, you can open a regular, raw spread or islamic account with the broker. However, you can open a demo account without these requirements and practice trading with no risks. IC Markets trading platforms are available on both desktop and mobile apps, and they include MT4, MT5, and cTrader.

This review will go through everything you need to know before you trade on IC Markets. We will explore in detail its spread, leverage, deposit & withdrawal options, customer support, and fees to see if this online broker is worthy of helping you trade your investments. We will also look at online reviews from places like Reddit, Quora, ForexPeaceArmy and TrustPilot.

Regulations

IC Markets is regulated mainly by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC). The following are the different entities of the broker:

IC Markets AU (International Capital Markets Pty Ltd): This entity is based in Australia. It is fully authorised and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Its office address is located at Level 4, 50 Carrington Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia. 

• Licence Number: 335 692
• Registration Number: 123 289 109

IC Markets EU (IC Markets (EU) Ltd): This entity is based in Cyprus. It is fully authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). Its registered office address is at 141 Omonoias Avenue, The Maritime Centre, Block B, 1st floor, 3045 Limassol, Cyprus.

• Licence Number: 362/18
• Company Registration Number: HE 356877

IC Markets Global (Raw Trading Ltd): Located at Eden Plaza, Office 209, Eden Island, Mahe, Seychelles. This entity is based in Seychelles. It is fully authorised and regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA). 

• Company Licence No: SD018
• Registration Number: 8419879-2

IC Markets Intl. (IC Markets Ltd): This entity is based in the Bahamas and operates with an offshore licence. It is fully authorised and regulated by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas. Its office address is at Unit 3B, Western Road, Western New Providence Commercial Centre, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

• Company Licence Number: SIA-F214
• Registration Number: 76823 C

Supported Countries

IC Markets has its headquarters in Australia, with several offices worldwide. It accepts clients in 140 countries globally, including the UK, Australia, and most countries in the European Union. It doesn’t accept clients from the United States, Canada, Cambodia, Cuba, Tanzania, and many other countries where government restrictions prevent the citizens from opening an account. You can find a list of unaccepted countries here.     

Available Assets

IC Markets offers more than 3,000+ CFDs in 7 asset classes. We will explore each of these assets in this section of the review. 

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies without any centralised control. For this reason, they are highly volatile in nature. IC Markets offers 21+ cryptocurrencies. You can trade the crypto market 24/7, with leverage up to 1:200 on MetaTrader platforms (MT4 & MT5) and 1:5 on cTrader.

Shares

IC Markets does not allow real share trading, i.e. investors and traders cannot buy and own real stocks using this broker. However, you can speculate on the direction of different stock prices using CFDs. The broker offers 2,100+ stock CFDs to traders who wish to trade without buying the underlying stock. The maximum leverage on stocks on the platform is up to 1:5. 

Commodities

Commodities are financial contracts used to trade physical goods on a financial market. IC Markets offers CFDs for traders who wish to speculate the direction of commodities. The broker offers 20+ commodities, including crude oil, brent oil, gold, silver, soybean, and cocoa. Spreads on commodities are tight and start from 0.0 pips, with leverage up to 1:500.  

Indices

Indices are financial instruments used to measure the performance of a group of shares on major stock exchanges. IC Markets offers CFDs to clients who wish to speculate the direction of different indices. The broker offers 23+ indices, including the E-mini S&P 500 Index, the FTSE 100 Index, and the S&P 200 Index. The spreads on indices start from 0.4 pips, with leverage up to 1:200.

Forex

IC Markets is one of the best forex brokers. It offers 60+ forex pairs for traders interested in the forex market. The forex market is the world’s largest financial market, and it runs 24/5, every day except on weekends. You can take advantage of the trading platforms offered by IC Markets to make trades 24 hours a day, 5 days a week (close on weekends). The broker offers tight spreads that start from 0.0 pips and leverage up to 1:500.

Bonds

Bonds are assets that pay a fixed income to their holders. Bond prices are often dependent on interest rates, and traders trade bonds based on their future interest rates estimates. With CFDs offered by IC Markets, traders can speculate the direction of bond prices. The broker offers 9+ bonds for traders to trade on the platform. Leverage on bonds is up to 1:200.

Futures

Futures are financial contracts that legally obligate a party to pay for an asset for delivery at a predetermined date or time. Futures CFDs are used to speculate the price directions of futures. IC Markets offer 3+ global futures to brokers with zero commission. All charges are calculated with the spread on futures. Leverage on futures is up to 1:200.

Spread

Spread is the difference between the bid and ask prices of assets. On IC Markets, the spread starts from 0.0 pips for many asset classes. The spread depends on the asset and account type.

Leverage

Leverage is a trading method that involves borrowing money from your broker to open larger positions in a financial market. Traders are required to drop small collateral, called margin before they are allowed to use leverage. Leverages are represented as ratios, for example, 1:100, which means you need to set aside a margin worth one-hundredth or one per cent of the total amount before you can trade with that leverage.

The maximum leverage offered on IC Markets depends on the asset and the location of the clients:

• Forex – up to 1:500 for global clients, up to 1:30 for clients in Australia and Europe
• Stocks – up to 1:5 for global clients and clients in Australia and Europe
• Indices – up to 1:200 for global clients, up to 1:20 for clients in Australia and Europe
• Bonds – up to 1:200
• Commodities – up to 1:500 for global clients, up to 1:20 for clients in Australia and Europe
• Futures – up to 1:200 for global clients
• Cryptocurrencies – up to 1:200 on MetaTrader platforms (MT4 & MT5), 1:5 on cTrader, 1:2 for clients in Australia and Europe    

Here’s a table showing forex pairs & commodities and their minimum spreads and maximum leverages on IC Markets:

Fees and Commissions

IC Markets charges fees and commissions depending on the account type and asset class. Fees and commissions can be divided into two major types: trading and non-trading fees. We will explore each of these fees in this section of the review. 

Trading Fees

Trading on IC Markets is not free. You may have to pay some spreads, commissions, and other non-trading fees depending on how you trade. Here are some common fees you will likely pay on the broker:

Spread

Spread is the difference between the bid/ask price on any asset. The minimum spread for trading on IC Markets during peak hours starts from 0.0 pips on a raw account. 

Some common spreads you can expect for major securities are:

• EUR/USD – from 0.0 pips
• Gold – from 0.0 pips
• Brent oil – from 2.0 pips.

Commission

IC Markets collects low commissions on trades done with raw spread accounts depending on the asset type. For example, major forex pairs like GBP/USD might attract a $3.50 commission per lot per trade in most GBP/USD brokers. 

Rollover/Swap Rates

Swap fees are charged on your account when you hold an open position overnight. IC Markets charges traders for holding an open position overnight. You can find information on IC Markets swap rates on their website.

Non-Trading Fees

Non-trading fees are fees you pay for activities that are not directly related to trading, for example, depositing and withdrawing funds. Some examples are:

Deposit and Withdrawal Fees

Deposit fees are fees charged when you fund your trading account, while withdrawal fees are charged when you withdraw from your trading account. IC Markets doesn’t charge any fee when you deposit or withdraw money to and from your trading account. 

Currency Conversion Fee

The broker charges a fee for currency conversion done with them. This fee is added as a small markup on the exchange rate provided by liquidity providers.

Inactivity Fee

IC Markets doesn’t charge an inactivity fee on your account when you don’t trade for extended periods (months and years). It is one of the few brokers to do this. 

Trading Platforms

IC Markets offers three trading platforms. It’s one of the best MetaTrader 4 brokers. It also offers MetaTrader 5 and cTrader. Most brokers often offer proprietary trading platforms, exclusively for their clients, but IC Markets doesn’t. They only offer the commonly-used MT4, MT5, and cTrader platforms. These trading platforms are available on both desktop and mobile apps. You can access them on Windows, MAC, Android, IOS, and Web browsers.  

Desktop Platforms

All three trading platforms provided by IC Markets are available on PC and Mac. We will review the features of the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) in this section.

User Interface

The MetaTrader 5 platform has a great user interface for beginners and professionals. You cannot customise it to your taste, but it is easy to navigate. Tools, charts, depth of market, etc., can be easily found on trading pages for quick analysis.

Charting Options

You can find different charting options on MetaTrader 5, like candlesticks, technical indicators, and charts. These options help traders make better investment decisions with their analysis.

Order Types

You can set your order type to market, stop loss, limit entry, and stop entry on the MetaTrader 5 platform.

Trade Automation

MT5 allows you to automate trades by setting important trading conditions on bots and leaving them to carry these instructions out in your absence.

How to Open an Account and Trade on IC Markets Desktop Trading Platform

Before you can trade on IC Markets, you will be required to open an account and go through KYC verification to ascertain that you are eligible to trade. Here are the steps to follow when opening an IC Markets account:

1. Go to the IC Markets official website and click on “Open an Account”.   
2. The button will direct you to a page where you will be required to fill in your first name, last name, country of residence, phone number and email address.
3. After providing these details, you will be asked for your date of birth, the type of account you want to open (Individual, Joint, Islamic), and your address. You will also be asked if you were referred by another broker.
4. The next set of questions will require you to choose the trading platform you plan to use on the broker. MetaTrader 4, Metatrader 5, and cTrader are the options you will see. You will also choose the account type you’ll be trading with (Raw Spread or Standard Account), and the account base currency (USD, GBP, AUD, etc.).
5. Next, the broker will require you to set a security question and answer. Questions like “What was the name of your first pet?” or “What is your mother’s maiden name?” will help the broker determine if you are the one trying to log in. It adds an extra layer of security for traders aside from passwords. You will also be required to accept some terms and conditions. Read them through and accept them before clicking “Submit”.
6. IC Markets will send a confirmation email to your email address. Go and check the email to confirm your account. You will find your login details there. Copy and use them to log into your secure client area.
7. To verify your account, click on “Verify Your Account” on the left-hand side of the secure client area. You will be required to provide information like your employment details, annual income range, investment amount, intended purposes and nature of transaction, and estimated net worth.
8. As part of the verification, the broker will ask for your knowledge level on trading CFDs and Forex.
9. Finally, you will be required to scan and upload a Government ID and a proof of residence. You can upload a driver’s licence or international passport as your government ID, and a utility bill or bank statement containing your address as proof of residence. If you wish to skip this part, you can move straight to funding your account.
10. You can fund your account using your credit and debit cards or any other deposit method available.

Mobile Trading App

IC Markets has a mobile trading app that allows trading with MetaTrader and cTrader platforms. This app offers access to MetaTrader and cTrader live trading accounts, charts for trading analysis, different order types, trade notifications, and many other features. 

User Interface

The mobile app platform has an easy-to-use interface that users can easily navigate and make trades whenever they need to.

Charting Options

Users can adjust the charts on the mobile platform to suit their tastes. You can have candlesticks, bars or line charts.

Order Types

Order types like limit entry, stop loss, etc. are all available on the mobile platform.

How to Open An Account and Trade CFDs With IC Markets Mobile App?

To trade on the IC Markets Mobile App, there are a few steps you must follow:

1. Download the mobile app on your Google Play Store or Apple Store.
2. After installing the app, go to your list of applications and select “Start Trading”
3. You will be directed to a webpage to fill in your name, country of residence, phone number and email address.
4. On the next page, you will provide your date of birth, the type of account you want to open (Individual, Joint, Islamic), and your address.
5. On the next page, you will choose the trading platform you plan to use on the broker. MetaTrader 4, Metatrader 5, and cTrader are the options you will see. You will also choose the account type you’ll be trading with (Raw Spread or Standard Account), and the account base currency (USD, GBP, AUD, etc.).
6. Next, the broker will require you to set a security question and answer.  After setting the security question and answer, you will be required to accept some terms and conditions. Read them through and accept them before clicking “Submit”.
7. IC Markets will send a confirmation email to your email address. Go and check the email to confirm your account. You will find your login details there. Copy and use them to log into your secure client area.
8. In your secure client area, click on “Verify your Account” and you will be required to answer questions regarding your employment status, income range, reason for investing and estimated net worth.
9. The next set of questions will border on your CFD and forex trading knowledge level. Answer them to move on to the next questions.
10.  Finally, you will be required to scan and upload a Government ID and a proof of residence. You can upload a driver’s licence or international passport as your government ID, and a utility bill or bank statement containing your address as proof of residence. If you wish to skip this part, you can move straight to funding your account.
11. Fund your account with your credit card, digital wallet or bank transfer.
12. Go to the trading area, select your favourite instruments and start trading. 

Account Types

IC Markets offers a demo account and four other account types, including the Islamic account. We will take a look at each of the account types offered by the broker in the section of the review.

Demo Account

Beginner traders can practise with the demo account on IC Markets without risking their funds. The demo account provides virtual funds for traders to trade CFDs using any of the trading platforms or trading accounts. IC Markets offers you the option of adjusting the amount on your demo account between $200 and $5,000,000. However, it is advisable to trade with an amount similar to what you plan to trade with on a live account. It is not sensible to practise trading with $1,000,000 when you only plan to use $1,000 in a live trading account.  

cTrader Raw Spread Account

The cTrader raw spread account is an IC Markets trading account that combines the raw spread offered by the broker and the fast execution speeds of the cTrader platform. This account offers low spreads starting from 0.0 pips and leverages up to 1:500. There are no limits on trading, and scalping is allowed. This account charges $3 per lot.

You can open a cTrader raw spread account by opening a live account on the IC Markets websites and choosing the cTrader raw spread option.

Raw Spread Account

The raw spread account on IC Markets is similar to the cTrader raw spread account, the only difference is that the raw spread account uses MetaTrader (MT4 & MT5) as its platform. The account offers low spreads starting from 0.0 pips and leverage up to 1:500. It offers fast trade executions and no limits on trading. The account charges $3.5 per lot per side on trading. 

Standard Account

The standard account is the regular account type with spreads and no commission. The standard account uses MetaTrader as its trading platform and charges $0 commission per lot per side on trading. The spread on this account starts from 0.6 pips and the leverages are up to 1:500.  

Islamic Account

Islamic accounts, also called swap-free accounts, were created specifically for people who cannot earn or pay interest due to their religious beliefs. The spread on this account starts from 0.0 pips, with leverages up to 1:500. The primary trading platform is MetaTrader (4&5). You can trade 90+ securities on this account, including currencies, metals and indices. People who open Islamic accounts have to pay a commission, starting from $5.   

Payment Methods

IC Markets has a wide range of methods for traders to deposit and withdraw funds to and from their accounts. These methods are bank transfer, wire transfer, debit/credit cards and digital wallets.

Deposit Methods

IC Markets has a wide range of deposit methods for funding your trading account. They include: 

• debit/credit cards, including Visa and Mastercards, 
• digital wallets like PayPal, Neteller, Skrill,
• Wire transfer
• Broker to broker, i.e. from one forex or CFD broker to IC Markets.

The approximate processing time depends on the deposit method used. Some deposit methods are instant, while others may take 2-3 days to confirm. The minimum deposit on IC Markets is $200.

Withdrawal Methods

IC Markets does not charge additional fees for withdrawing money from your trading account. However, the bank or digital wallet company might charge you extra for using a withdrawal method. The approximate processing time depends on the withdrawal method used. Some withdrawal methods can be processed on the same day, while others may take up to 14 days to confirm. 

For withdrawal methods that are to be processed on the same day, the cut-off time is 12:00 Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT). Any withdrawal request sent after this time will be processed the next day.

Withdrawal methods in IC Markets include:

• Bank transfer
• Credit/debit cards
• Digital wallets (PayPal, Neteller, etc.)

There is no minimum withdrawal account. However, traders should be wary of withdrawing amounts lower than banking fees.

How to Withdraw on IC Markets

• Log into your secure client area and click on “Withdrawal form”
• Choose the withdrawal method you wish to use and the account you wish to withdraw the funds to. Enter the amount you wish to withdraw and submit your request.
• Depending on the withdrawal method, you might have to provide some details.  

Education

A good broker is always judged in reviews by its ability to provide good educational resources for traders to teach them about trading basics and help them adapt to the trading platforms of the broker. IC Markets does extremely well in this regard, as it is known as one of the best brokers for beginners. It has a wide range of educational materials to help beginner CFD traders learn the advantages and disadvantages of CFD trading. 

The broker also has a section for video tutorials on various subjects that traders might have issues with when starting out on the platform. Questions like “How to open an account”, “How to navigate MetaTrader”, “How to deposit funds”, etc. are taken care of in extensive video tutorials. 

You can find actionable trading advice and short commentaries in short video format on the Web TV section. IC Markets records videos from the NYSE trading floor and Trading Central for traders who wish to listen and use the information to guide their investment decisions. 

Finally, the broker provides insights in a blog for traders. The blog contains everything related to trading forex and CFDs, including articles on technical analysis, news on interest rates, etc.

Customer Support

IC Markets has a great customer support system that allows 24/7 outreach from its clients. There is a live chat option where clients can chat with customer representatives and get responses. There is also an email support option for people to report their issues via email to the customer support email address. On the customer support page, you can find Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to help deal with common issues clients face while using the broker.

As of the time of this review, there is no call centre for customers to place calls for complaints. There are, however, links to their social media pages where customers can send direct messages and leave comments on posts. The social media pages are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Reviews

What Reddit Users Say About IC Markets

Reddit is a social networking platform where almost half a billion users (called Redditors) drop their opinions on different topics, including finance and trading-related topics. We went through the platform to see what Redditors thought about IC Markets. There were many great reviews, with many Redditors saying they were worth trying out and only a few others saying they were terrible.

One Redditor stated that he had been using IC Markets for well over a year at the time of writing his post and found the broker reliable for making next day withdrawals. For this reason, the user thought the broker was worth trying out.

Another Redditor stated that he was impressed with IC Markets services for a couple of reasons. First, he liked the spreads offered by the broker, which were tight, even during news. Also, the redditor liked the customer service and praised them for their fast and detailed replies.

Finally, we saw the review of a Redditor who said he had been using the broker for a while out of pure interest in it. The user confirmed that the customer service response was great, having lodged a fake complaint to test it. The redditor specifically loved the Mac version of the MT4 trading platform offered by the broker, and encouraged people to try the broker out.

What Quora Users Say About IC Markets

Quora is a solid social community with over 300 million visits every month. Quora users visit the site to ask questions about and discuss a wide range of topics. We decided to take a walk through the platform to see what Quora users thought about IC Markets. The reviews were mainly positive with a few negative comments from dissatisfied past clients.

One Quora user called the broker a fantastic broker for traders who wanted to trade with MetaTrader and cTrader platforms. The user also said that IC Markets was great for automated trading, social copy trading and educational resources.

Another Quora user said the same thing. According to the user, IC Markets was great for automated trading, and traders who valued that feature would enjoy using it.

On the question of whether IC Markets was safe for trading, many Quora users agreed that the platform wasn’t very safe. Some said that the platform used to be good in this regard, but it has become worse due to a bunch of poorly executed upgrades. 

TrustPilot Users’ Reviews About IC Markets

TrustPilot is a global review website for thousands of people to post their opinions about websites, products, services, and businesses. Thousands of opinions about products from past and current users help prospective users know if they are worth trying. 

On TrustPilot, IC Markets had 4.9 stars out of 5 stars. This is immediately a good sign that many people like the broker. One user said he had been using IC Markets for a while and never really had a problem except at times when he got too greedy and overexposed himself.

Another user said he had trouble logging in, but the customer service team helped him resolve it in no time. He had nothing but praise for the team.

One of the few negative reviews was from a user who said the KYC verification process was a bit tedious for them. 

ForexPeaceArmy Users’ Reviews About IC Markets

ForexPeaceArmy is a forex broker review website for traders who are past and current users of a broker to drop opinions about them. IC Markets has a 3.6-star rating from past and current users on this platform.   

Many clients talked about how the broker had great spreads and a solid customer support team that helped them deal with their issues. 

Is IC Markets Safe?

IC Markets is a safe broker, thanks to its numerous regulations by trustworthy regulatory bodies like the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC). These regulatory bodies ensure that the broker takes precautionary safety measures to protect clients’ funds and personal information. 

The broker also has a great reputation among traders, and well-known review websites have called it trustworthy for forex and CFD trading. These factors make it a safe and reliable forex and CFD broker for beginners and professionals.

Other Products and Services

There are other products and services provided by the company, which include:

Forex Trading Calculator

IC Markets provides a forex trading calculator for traders who wish to calculate important forex trading factors, like the pips on different forex pairs, commission for different platforms, currency conversion rate, margin, swap, and profit. You can access the calculator by clicking on “More>Forex calculators” on the website homepage.

TeamViewer – Remote Customer Support

TeamViewer is a software program by IC Markets to help customers deal with account and installation issues. You can download the software on your Mac or PC device and connect to the IC Markets team from your device. The team of specialists can connect to your Mac or PC remotely and help you fix any issues you have.

Bottom Line

IC Markets is a forex and CFD broker that offers trading services to traders in over 140 countries. It was established in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, by Andrew Budzinski, and is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). It serves 200,000+ clients worldwide with 3,000+ CFDs in 7 different asset classes: Stocks, Forex, indices, commodities, bonds, cryptocurrencies, and ETFs. It is not available to people in the USA and Canada.

The broker has tight spreads, with spreads on its raw account starting at 0.0 pips. It also has good leverages for traders in countries that allow high leverages up to 1:500. It offers three trading platforms: Metatrader 4 and 5 (MT4 & MT5) and cTrader. These platforms allow quick execution speeds and are user-friendly for beginners. The deposit and withdrawal process on IC Markets are quick and cost nothing extra.

IC Markets has great reviews from past and current users all over the internet. On social platforms like Quora and Reddit, the broker had mostly positive comments from people who loved their customer support and low spreads. On websites like TrsutPilot and ForexPeaceArmy, the sentiments were generally similar. The brand reputation, coupled with its features and products have led us to believe that this broker is worth trying out.