XTB Review UK

Most traders will find the extensive range of assets at XTB more than satisfactory and certainly ahead of most of the competition.

• Forex: 48 currency pairs including majors, minors and exotics
• Indices: over 20 indices from across the globe including USA, Germany and China
• Commodities: all the popular commodities including gold, silver and oil
• Stock CFDs: over 1,850 global stock CFDs from USA, UK and European exchanges. A wider range than found at most trading platforms
• ETF CFDs: over 100 global ETF CFDs

From the standard account, traders are able to access forex, commodities, indices, stock CFDs, and ETF CFDs totalling 21,00 instruments with a leverage of 30:1. The minimum spread is 0.35 but what really sets this account apart from its competitors is the automatic access to a Personal Account Manager.

The Personal Account Manager is there to provide a tailored service, including any questions or issues relating to your account and training on how to navigate the platform. They can also provide access to 1:1 mentoring with an industry expert on request, however, they are not able to offer any trading advice or trade on clients’ behalf.

Should you decide to upgrade to a professional account you will need at least 2 of the following criteria:

• 10 significant-sized transactions per quarter for the previous year
• Portfolio of over 500,000 EUR
• Are a professional in the financial sector.

As a professional client, you will retain many of the features available on the standard account including negative balance protection. This trading account is designed for active traders.

In a move away from MetaTrader 4, XTB has developed xStation5, which converts seamlessly to the mobile application, without a loss of functionality, as was the case with MetaTrader 4.

In terms of design, XTB have created a mobile application that is very easy to use with streaming news, watchlists, and an economic calendar all easy to locate. You can also access market sentiment, top movers, and some educational content including videos and webinars.

Searching for an asset can easily be done via the search bar or by browsing through the categories available. Order types mirror those found on the web platform including Market, Limit/Stop, Stop-Loss/Take-Profit and Trailing stop.

Whilst there is some charting available, there were some issues syncing this with the web version, however, the mobile app does come with some really handy alerts and notifications including alerts about relevant market news.

The web trading platform successfully bridges the gap between beginners and experienced traders with the design and usability of the platform.

In terms of functionality, this platform performs well, with excellent search functions and the ability to place the following orders:

• Market
• Stop-loss/Take Profit
• Limit/Stop
• Trailing Stop

In addition to time limit order Good ‘til Time (GTT).

Several alerts and notifications are on hand so you don’t miss a beat including via email, SMS, and push notifications. These can notify traders about margin calls, trading positions, and transactions. Traders can also make use of some pretty comprehensive reporting including profit/loss details of your positions and automatic daily email reports.

On a negative note, xStation5 appears to be missing automated trading functionality and I couldn’t locate any back-testing capabilities.

There are several trading tools to aid your trading decisions, including but not limited to, colour-coded heat mapping in order to analyse top movers, versatile stock screeners, ETF scanner, and the following aids:

• Economic calendar,
• Built-in trading calculator
• Comprehensive charts with 39 technical indicators
• Risk management tools
• Market sentiment

There are also plenty of trading ideas to work from within the news flow which is constantly streaming headlines from various providers. Further research tools include the Stocks Screener which utilises various factors to filter stocks including market capitalization and debt-to-equity ratio.

In addition to the demo account, which is an excellent resource for practising trading, XTB provides a comprehensive suite of educational resources.

This includes tutorials, videos, ebooks, articles, and webinars which can mostly be located under the ‘Learn to Trade’ section of the platform. The tutorials in particular offer an interactive way to improve your trading skills and knowledge with over 200 lessons available in the Trading Academy ranging from risk management to technical market analysis.

In addition, forex and CFD lessons are available with quizzes at the end so users can test what they have learnt which is something you won’t find at most other forex brokers.

All in all, this is an excellent offering from XTB online trading and an excellent reason for anyone looking to improve their trading skills to choose this broker.

Contacting customer service can be done via

• Email
• Phone
• Live chat

Agents are on hand to help 24/5. I tested all channels whilst conducting this XTB review and found response times to be reasonable, with Live Chat answering in approximately 40 minutes. This isn’t the fastest service I’ve encountered but still ranks well among competitors.

Opening your account at XTB broker can have you up and trading within one day. There is no minimum deposit for retail investor accounts however, there is only one, Standard account on offer. Customers outside of Europe can access an Islamic Account that is compliant with Sharia Law.

To open your account, simply follow these steps:

• Click ‘Create Account’ on the XTB website
• Submit your email address and country of residence
• Enter your personal information including full name, date of birth and residential address
• Select the trading platform and the base currency you require
• Answer a few simple questions relating to your finances, employment status and trading experience
• Verify your identity by uploading verification documents including passport or driving licence and proof of address

There are several base currencies to choose from at XTB including USD, EUR and GBP.

There are no fees when you deposit funds using bank transfer, however, your credit/debit card provider may charge a fee.

XTB withdrawal fees

XTB charges no fees should you wish to conduct a bank transfer withdrawal from your XTB account over £60. To withdraw funds of less than £60, a £12 fee will apply. Withdrawals are all conducted using bank transfers.

All withdrawals are available within 1 business day.

X Trade Brokers is regulated by several authorities across the globe including

• UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC)
• Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF)
• National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) of Spain
• Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)
• International Financial Services Commission of Belize (IFSC)

In addition, UK residents have cover up to the value of £85,000 from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the unlikely event that XTB becomes insolvent.

In addition, X Trade Brokers offer negative balance protection and as well as being listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, all client funds are held in segregated bank accounts in order to keep them separate from XTB’s funds.

The fees at XTB will vary depending on the type of account you open with a spread-only Standard Account and a commission-based Pro Account. Whilst the fees are highly competitive, they aren’t the lowest in the industry.

The average spread for the S&P 500 CFD is 0.6 points during peak hours which is the industry average. However, for EUR/USD the average spread is 0.9 pips which is low in the industry.

There is an inactivity fee of 10 EUR per month after 1 year of no trading activity and no deposit in the last 90 days. In addition, withdrawals under the value of £60 will incur a £12 transaction fee.

The robust education and access upon request for a professional account, make it well-placed for all levels. It is also worth mentioning that this is a solid choice for anyone looking to minimise their trading costs.

XTB also welcomes international clients, although some of the services may change.