AvaTrade

AvaTrade is a big and well-established broker that will give you access to both their own proprietary platform and the famous independent platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). AvaTrade has also partnered up with famous brands such as ZuluTrade and Capitalise.ai.

Over 50 different currency pairs are available for speculation, but AvaTrade is also used to trade and speculate on a wide range of other assets, including stocks, indices, commodities, bonds, exchange-traded funds, and cryptocurrencies.

AvaTrade is a market maker; not an ECN broker. Orders goes through the broker’s dealing desk and are executed within AvaTrade. AvaTrade can take the other side of the trade, which creates a conflict of interest. Many forex traders still like this model over ECN, as long as it gives them quick execution and tight spreads.

The customer service department is available around the clock Monday – Friday, but is closed during the weekend.

AvaTrade does not charge a commission on forex trading. Instead, the make money from the spreads, but the spreads are not excessive. As is normal in the industry, the tightest spreads are offered for the most traded forex pairs, e.g. EUR/USD.

A downside with AvaTrade is the inactivity fee (see below).

Warnings regarding inactivity

Your AvaTrade account will be deemed inactive after just 3 months of no trading activity, and when this happens AvaTrade will begin charging the 50 USD inactivity fee.

Logging in is not enough to keep an account active; actual trading is required.

After 12 months of inactivity, there will be a 100 USD administration charge.

These are pretty harsh conditions compared to many other brokers. If you know that you sometimes take a break from trading for a few months, AvaTrade might not be optimal for you. There are other brokers that offer better conditions for traders in this regard.

Regulation

AvaTrade is active through subsidiaries in different parts of the world, in order to comply with local laws and license requirements. It is therefore important that you check which license your trading will fall under, as it impacts your legal situation. There are fore for instance some countries that require Negative Account Balance Protection for non-professional traders, while others do not. Which license you fall under can also have a big impact on how much leverage you can use.

Examples of AvaTrading subsidiaries and the authority that regulates them

Within the European Union

• AVA Trade EU Ltd – Central Bank of Ireland, registration number C53877
• DT Direct Investment Hub Ltd – Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), registration number 347/17

Outside the European Union

• Ava Capital Markets Australia Pty Ltd – Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), registration number 406684
• Ava Trade Japan K.K. – Japanese Financial Services Agency, registration number 1662, and the Financial Futures Association, registration number 1574
• ATrade Ltd – Israel Securities Authority, registration number 514666577
• Ava Trade Middle East Ltd – Abu Dubai Global Markets Financial Regulatory Services Authority, registration number 190018
• Ava Capital Markets Pty – South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority, registration number 45984
• Ava Trade Markets Ltd – British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, registration number SIBA/L/13/1049

Accounts

The AvaTrade standard account

This is the account used by a majority of the non-professional traders.

Some traders like this simplicity of not having many accounts to chose from, since it means they do not have to try to find out which account type is optimal for them. Other traders dislike it, because they like the option of picking a more specialized trading account that is more suited for their particular trading style.

How to open a standard account:

1. Visit the AvaTrade website to sign-up.
2. You will need to provide your email address and create a password.
3. Select “Create My Account”.
4. Complete the registration form.
5. Submit the financial details asked for, including employment status.
6. Submit information about your trading experience and market knowledge.
7. Select base currency for your account.
8. Select trading platform.
9. Review the terms and conditions.
10. Select “Complete Registration”.

This is a quick process, and I completed it in less than 10 minutes. Remember, however, that additional steps (identity verification) may be required before you can start making deposits and withdrawals.

The professional account

To be accepted for a professional account, you need to fulfil certain requirements, including having a financial portfolio of $500,000.

With a professional account, you can expect leverage up to 1:400 on major forex pairs.

The Muslim account

The Muslim account is a swap-free account. It is also known as a Sharia / Halal / Islamic account. With this account, there are no traditional swap-fees for positions held open over night. You will pay administrative fees instead.

Accounts for money managers (MAM & PAMM)

AvaTrade offers multi-account manager (MAM) and percentage allocation management module (PAMM) accounts for money managers operating multiple investment profiles.

Spreads and commissions

AvaTrader does not charge commissions on products.

AvaTrader makes the bulk of their money from the spreads, which are floating. The spreads are pretty average; not exceptionally tight but not overly wide either. I did for instance get 1 pip on the EUR/USD currency pair and 1.5 pips on the GBP/USD.

AvaTrade is a market maker

AvaTrade is a market maker and orders are executed within AvaTrade. Orders will go through the broker’s dealing desk.

If there is no suitable match from another trader, AvaTrade can take the other side of the trade. Therefore, your broker will sometimes also be your counterpart in a trade. This creates a conflict of interest, since AvaTrade is effectively trading against you. Many traders still like this model, as long as it gives them quick execution and tight spreads.

If you do not like this model, you may prefer using an ECN broker.

Forex speculation with AvaTrade

Over 50 currency pairs are available for speculation.

Minimum lot size is just 0.01 lot, which is great news for small-scale traders like me.

Examples of available forex pairs:

• EUR/AUD
• EUR/GBP
• EUR/USD
• USD/CAD
• USD/CHF
• USD/JPY
• GBP/USD
• AUD/NZD
• AUD/USD
• NZD/USD

Using CFDs

A lot of the forex speculation at AvaTrade takes place using Contracts for Difference (CFDs). By using a CFD, which is a type of derivative, you can gain exposure to currency exchange without actually buying, owning and selling currency.

Leverage is available for forex-based CFD trading with this broker.

Using options

Vanilla call and put options based on forex are available for speculation.

Spread betting

Spread betting based on forex is available in the UK. Typically, this entails a fixed expiry and come with certain tax-advantages in the UK.

Cryptocurrency speculation

At the time of writing, 10+ popular cryptocurrencies are available for speculation here and the list is expected to grow in the future. Examples of cryptocurrencies that are available for speculation at AvaTrade are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Ripple.

Speculating on other assets than forex

You can speculate on other things here as well, including stocks, bonds, options, commodities, exchange-traded funds, and indices. This is a wider assortment than what most of the competitors have to offer.

Exactly what you get access to when it comes to instruments and underlying assets can vary somewhat depending on your jurisdiction.

Stocks

Pick from over 50 different exchange-traded stocks from well known companies. You can for example speculate on the share prices of companies such as Coca-Cola, Apple, JP Morgan Chase, and Amazon.

Bonds

Gain exposure to government bonds from many different parts of the world, including bonds issues by governments in Europe, North America and Asia. You can for instance find the well-known US 10-Year-T-Note in the assortment.

Options

At the time of writing, all options available for speculation are vanilla options – no exotics. They are standard call and put options for underlying assets such as forex, cryptocurrencies and commodities.

Commodities

Both energies, metals and agricultural commodities are represented. You can for instance gain exposure to crude oil, gold, silver, and sugar. The list currently includes 18 different commodities.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

Roughly a dozen ETFs are available for speculation, such as the Dow Jones US Real Estate Index Fund, the MSCI Singapore Index Fund, and the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN.

Indices

Over 20 indices are available for speculation at AvaTrade, which is more than what many of the competitors have to offer. In addition to household names such as the S&P500, FTSE 100 and DJIA, you can also find some more exotic choices here, including Asian indices.

Leveraged trading at AvaTrade

How much leverage you get access to will in part be determined by your location and your classification. Many of the stricter countries, such as the UK, Cyprus and Australia, has limited how much leverage a broker is permitted to offer a trader classified as a non-professional trader. These rules typically vary depending on the perceived risk level, so you may for instance be permitted to use more leverage when speculating on a major forex pair than an exotic one.

When AvaTrade is not limited by law and license regulations, they offer up to 1:400 in leverage.

Trading platforms and trading tools

• The MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform
• The MetaTrader 5 (MT5) trading platform
• AvaTrade WebTrader
• AvaTradeGo mobile app
• Trading Central
• AvaSocial App
• AvaOptions
• MT4 VPS
• MT4 Guardian Angle Add-On
• DupliTrade (requires a $2,000 minimum deposit)
• ZuluTrade can be integrated with the MT4/MT5 platforms via API.
• Capitalise.ai for building trading robots

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader (MT5)

These two platforms come from the same developer and are extremely well-known and popular. MT4 is a bit more popular among forex traders, while the MT5 was developed for a broader range of assets (although, the MT4 is not exclusively for forex trading).

Both come with a wealth of tools for technical analysis, but the MT5 has an even larger toolbox than the MT4.

The MT4 has 9 time frames for charts (1 minute to 1 month), 24 graphical objects, and 30+ technical indicators. The MT5 has 21 time frames for charts (1 minute to 1 month), 44 graphical objects, and 38 technical indicators.

Both platforms can be used for instant and pending orders.

Both platforms can be used for automated forex robot trading using Expert Advisors (EAs). The platforms includes support for programming your own forex robots, but you can also rent and buy robots from other developers.

The MT4 and MT5 can be downloaded and installed on a computer or used directly in the browser window – you decide which you prefer. There are also mobile apps available for both iOS and Android.

AvaTrade WebTrader

This trading platform is not available for download to a computer; it can only be used in the browser window. If you want to trade on your mobile phone, apps are available for download – the AvaTradeGo Apps (see below).

When it comes to technical analysis, the WebTrader offers 3 chart types (candlestick, bar and line), 10 time frames for charts (1 minute to 1 month), 50+ technical indicators, and a dozen drawing tools.

Many beginners prefer the WebTrader, since the MT4 and MT5 can be a bit overwhelming.

AvaTradeGo App

This is the AvaTrade mobile trading app. There is one version for iOS (Apple) and another one for Android.

Trading Central

As an AvaTrade trader, you will get access to the Trading Central through the AvaTrade Webtrader and the AvaTradeGo App. This is not a trading app. It is a resource centre for traders, including forex traders.

Examples of features:

• Daily strategy newsletter
• Analyst views
• Economic event news
• Market buzz sentiment info

Ava Social App (for copy trading)

This app can be used to follow and copy other traders. You can do both manual copy trading and automated copy trading.

Mentor groups are available.

Ava Social App comes in one version for iOS (Apple) and another version for Android.

DupliTrade (for copy trading)

This is another solution for traders interested in copy trading.

While Ava Social App for copy trading is available without any special requirements, DupliTrade requires a minimum 2,000 USD deposit.

ZuluTrade (for copy trading)

The well-established ZuluTrade can also be used for copy trading from your AvaTrade account. It can be integrated into the MT4 and MT5 platforms via API. In addition to copy trading, you will also get access to a community of traders.

The investment requirement to access ZuluTrade is 200 USD.

Capitalise.ai

You can use your AvaTrade MT4 credentials to log into Capitalise.ai and build your own trading robots. There is also a library available with robots and strategies created by others.

The robots can be used on the MT4 platform.

You do not need to be familiar with coding to utilize Capitalise.ai.

AvaProtect

This is a risk-reduction tool for forex traders on AvaTrade WebTrader and the AvaTradeGo app. It comes at a cost, and the cost will depend on the risk level.

How to open a free AvaTrade Demo Account in few easy steps

1. Go to the AvaTrade website and select “Free Demo”.
2. Enter your name, email address and phone number in the pop-up window.
3. Chose “Create Account”.
4. Use your log-in credentials to log into your new Demo Account.

Tip! Via the main menu icon, you can choose “Switch to Demo”.

About the AvaTrade Demo Account

• It comes with $10,000 in play-money.
• I used my demo account to explore both the MT4, MT5 and the proprietary AvaTrade platforms a lot. It is nice that the demo account is not limited to any particular platform.
• There is no time limit. Personally, I really like this, because I want to evaluate a broker without feelings stressed into making a decision.
• I was allowed to keep using my AvaTrade Demo Account even after becoming a real-money client, which is great for me since I like to use play-money demo accounts to test out new trading strategies and fine-tune them.

Trading hours

Trading hours vary depending on the traded assets.

The general trading hours for forex are from Sunday 21:00 GMT to Friday 21:00 GMT.

Information about holidays and other market closures are available on the AvaTrade website.

Cryptocurrency speculation is available 24/7.

Deposits and withdrawals

AvaTrade accepts many different transaction method types for depositing and withdrawing money. The list of accepted methods includes credit/debit cards, bank wire transfer, and e-wallets such as Skrill, Neteller, WebMoney, and PayPal.

AvaTrade does not charge any fees to process your deposits and withdrawals, which is a big plus.

There are no minimum or maximum withdrawal limits. Not having a minimum withdrawal limit is especially beneficial to me as a small-scale trader who might want to make a small withdrawal.

Withdrawal requests are normally handled within 24-48 hours.

How to make a deposit

1. Log in to your AvaTrade account.
2. Find the “Deposit” icon in the top menu and click on it.
3. Select one of the accepted transaction methods.
4. Select which trading account you want the deposit to go to.
5. Enter the amount.
6. Confirm the transaction.

Before you can start making deposits and withdrawals, your identity needs be verified.

Minimum deposit

The minimum deposit is 100 USD or equivalent in another currency.

Base currency for the account

The accepted base currencies for an AvaTrade account are USD, EUR, GBP, and CHF.

Customer support

The customer support is open 24/5. No matter when you are trading during the weekdays, you can reach out to the customer support if there is an issue. It is closed during the weekends.

• Phone number: +44 203 307 4336, or visit the ‘Contact Us’ section of the AvaTrae website for local contact numbers. The +44 number goes to the United Kingdom.
• WhatsApp: +44 7520 6440 93
• Email: Use the contact form on the ‘Contact Us’ section of the AvaTrade website
• Live chat: You will find the live chat in the bottom right corner on the AvaTrade website.

About AvaTrade

AvaTrade was founded in 2006.

As of 2023, AvaTrade has over 400,000 registered clients.

In an average month, AvaTrade executes around 2 million trades.

The main office is in Dublin, Ireland. AvaTrade also has offices in other parts of the world, such as Fance, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, and South Africa.

Questions and answers

Can I trade on my phone?

Yes you can.

• The MT4 platform is available as apps for iOS and Android.
• The MT5 platform is available as apps for iOS and Android.
• The AvaTrade proprietary platform is available as apps for iOS and Android, and is called AvaTradeGo.

Does AvaTrade have a welcome bonus?

Like many brokers licensed in strict countries, AvaTrade is not offering any huge welcome bonuses to retail traders. Sometimes, they run campaigns where new traders are offered a small welcome deposit bonus. The details can vary depending on the trader’s location and applicable laws and regulations.

Are there other bonuses?

Yes.

• The refer-a-friend scheme can give you up to 250 USD per new trader, but conditions apply.
• Sometimes, bonus campaigns are posted in AvaTrade’s social media channels. Typically, certain jurisdictions are excluded from the campaigns.

What is the AvaTrade Academy?

The AvaTrade Academy is a resource for traders that wish to learn more about various fields and become more profitable. There is for instance 20+ online courses available (with multiple classes per course) and you can take 50+ quizzes to make sure you have understood the material. A wide range of solutions are utilized, including videos and written articles. Courses are available for varying experience levels.