CIX Markets Review 2024

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CIX Markets is an FCA-regulated trading broker focusing on client safety, exceptional support and competitive pricing. Customers can trade forex and CFD instruments across a significant range of markets with zero commission, thanks to the firm’s STP execution model. This 2024 review details the broker’s most important aspects, such as fees and spreads, account types, safety features and payment times. Is CIX Markets a trustworthy broker? Read on to find out.

About CIX Markets

CIXMarkets.com is owned by City Credit Capital (UK) Limited, a firm that has been in the derivatives industry for over two decades. A history of providing online dealing services to banks, high capital clients and other brokers has equipped the company with the knowledge and experience to offer a competitive service to retail clients.

CIX Markets is UK-based and regulated by the FCA, servicing domestic traders alongside a global client base through a bespoke trading platform and the MetaTrader 4 software.

Markets

Over 100 instruments are available for speculation through CIX Markets, with both spot and futures-based CFDs represented from several markets.

Forex

Fifty-eight forex instruments are provided, including major, minor and exotic currency pairs. The FX majors available through the broker are split into fixed-spread and variable, floating spread products, with the broker fully transparent concerning its additional markup spreads.

Fixed-spread instruments range from 1.0 pips on EUR/USD to 3.4 pips on other majors, while variable spread products trade anywhere from 1.2 pips above the underlying asset price.

Indices

11 spot and nine futures of the highest global market cap indices make up the broker’s indices offering, with assets including the UK FTSE 100, Japanese Nikkei 225 and US dollar index.

The broker’s index instruments are priced according to a target spread system. Products feature a minimum spread value set by the company that can increase based on fluctuations in the underlying asset price.

Commodities

CIX Markets offers nine commodities products, with several metals, energies and soft commodities available for speculation. Clients can trade spot gold and silver, natural gas futures or cocoa futures, with spreads starting from 3.0 pips.

Interest Rates & Bonds

Clients can access three interest rate and seven bond CFDs through the broker covering several central European countries. Target spreads start from 2.0 pips on the CIX Markets German Bobl CFD product.

Leverage

As an FCA-regulated broker, the firm has significant restrictions on the leverage it can offer to retail clients. As a result, the margin rates for each asset are as follows:

• 1:30 on major forex pairs
• 1:20 on minor and exotic currency pairs, major indices and gold products
• 1:10 on non-major indices and all other commodities
• 1:5 on interest rate and bond CFDs

To hold positions overnight, traders must put up a 50% margin, regardless of the asset. In comparison, weekend and holiday swaps require a total 100% margin.

During the trading day, the broker makes a margin call at 50% and imposes a complete stop out on positions that fall to 25% of the required margin.

Account Types

While most brokers provide several accounts to clients, often with varying execution types, minimum deposit requirements and spread values, CIX Markets only offers a single account type.

This account uses the STP execution model for zero-commission trading, with the broker’s cut built into the spreads. Fixed spreads start from 1.0 pips on major forex pairs and leverage of up to 1:30 is available to retail clients.

UK investors will be pleased to know that GBP is supported as a base account currency. However, the broker does not offer a swap-free Islamic account to those who cannot pay interest for religious reasons.

Demo Account

Prospective clients who wish to trial a broker’s trading services before signing up for a full account can register for a demo account. The demo account is available for four weeks on the CIX Trader and MetaTrader 4 platforms and comes funded with £50,000 of paper funds.

Trading Platforms

CIX Markets clients can choose from two trading platforms – MetaTrader 4 or the broker’s proprietary software, CIX Trader. The latter platform is required to access the broker’s full range of instruments, as some markets are only available on CIX Trader.

MetaTrader 4

Launched in 2005, MetaTrader 4 is a well-known online forex and CFD trading program that remains highly popular with retail traders.

The platform boasts tools such as custom alerts, programmable hotkeys and one-click trading support to make investing fast and efficient. In addition to nine time frames, 31 graphical objects and 30 standard indicators, MT4 provides advanced drawing tools for precise technical analysis.

CIX Markets clients can easily automate their trading using expert advisors (EAs) in MetaTrader 4, whether by creating software or buying community-made tools from the MQL4 marketplace.

MT4 is available for free download on Windows, Mac and Linux, as a browser-based WebTrader or as a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

CIX Trader

CIX Markets offers a proprietary CIX Trader platform as an alternative to MetaTrader 4.

The software features several markets not available on MT4, such as futures index CFDs and bond CFD products. Advanced order types, including limit settle and OCO orders, allow users to be proactive in the fast-moving CFD markets. Moreover, 20 technical indicators and multiple charting types allow traders to make informed predictions.

CIX Trader is available to download on Mac and Windows desktops and as a browser-based mobile platform.

Mobile Apps

Both MetaTrader 4 and CIX Trader feature mobile options, with MT4 provided as an app to download on Android and iOS devices and CIX Trader available through a phone’s built-in web browser.

The MetaTrader 4 mobile app lacks some of the features of the full platform, while CIX Markets claim that the mobile version of the software has the full functionality of the desktop variant.

Traders should note that clients cannot make deposits and withdrawals via either mobile platform.

Payment Methods

CIX Markets provides a solid range of payment methods, accepting credit and debit cards, bank wire transfers and e-wallet solutions Skrill and Neteller. GBP is a supported funding currency, in addition to EUR and USD.

While the broker does not offer representative payment times, bank wires typically take 2-5 business days to process for both deposits and withdrawals. E-wallet and payment card deposits are often instant, though withdrawal times are not provided for these methods.

While the firm requires an initial minimum deposit of £400 to open an account, no further details on subsequent minimum deposit or withdrawal stipulations are provided. This is disappointing for a broker that places significant emphasis on its supposed transparency.

Deposit & Withdrawal Fees

Many traders are unwilling to pay transaction charges that eat into trading profits when funding their accounts and heavily favour fee-free brokers.

With this in mind, CIX Markets does not levy any deposit or withdrawal fees on its clients. However, it is unclear whether the firm covers bank fees from wire transfers or external charges from the supported e-wallet payment methods.

Trading Fees

As an STP-only broker, CIX Markets does not have any trading commissions in its fee structure. Instead, the company adds a markup to the spreads of its products to make its cut.

Investors are charged a swap fee when holding positions overnight, with these charges varying from asset to asset. Sporadic traders will be pleased to hear that there are no inactivity fees levied on dormant accounts, nor any other account fees.

Security & Regulation

Selecting a trustworthy broker is key to staying safe in the forex and CFD trading space. Regulation from a respected body is one of the best guarantees that a company is not a scam.

CIX Markets clients can trade with confidence knowing that the firm is overseen by the primary UK financial regulator, the FCA. As part of this licence, investors’ funds are protected for up to £85,000 in case of company insolvency. The broker must also hold client funds in segregated accounts at a tier-1 global bank.

The broker also employs negative balance protection to shield clients from losses that exceed deposited capital. However, the company does not provide two-factor authentication (2FA) to add security to its website and proprietary platform logins. The MetaTrader 4 platform does, however, support one-time passcodes.

Customer Support

A helpful and responsive customer support team can be instrumental in creating a positive trading environment for clients.

To this end, CIX Markets offers several options for traders to get in contact with support. The broker operates a dedicated email address, a live chat feature, a website contact form, two phone numbers and a fax address. The customer service team is available during UK office hours from Monday to Friday.

• Support Phone Number: 020 7614 4668
• Email Address: customerservice@cixmarkets.com
• General Phone Number & Fax Address: 020 7614 4600

In addition to its direct support offerings, the firm also provides an FAQ section on its website, providing clients with quick answers to common questions.

Educational Content

Despite featuring a dedicated section for educational content, CIX Markets only offers three trading articles, which cover key terms and concepts for trading. This content is not expansive enough to sufficiently educate new investors and too basic to further the knowledge of experienced traders.

The rest of the section covers the intricacies of the CIX Trader platform, providing new users with guidance on executing various software functions. Traders can learn how to use the different drawing tools and charting types in CIX Trader, as well as make deposits and withdrawals directly from the platform.

Advantages Of CIX Markets

• Transparent asset pricing
• Two great trading platforms
• Free Trading Central access
• Fully commission-free STP trading
• An experienced, FCA-regulated broker
• UK-based phone, email and live chat support

Disadvantages Of CIX Markets

• No Islamic account
• No raw-spread ECN account
• No VPS or trading calculators
• Stock and crypto CFDs not supported
• High initial minimum deposit requirement
• Brief and incomplete educational content section
• Lacking information on payment methods and fees

Promotions

FCA regulations prohibit the use of promotions that incentivise prospective clients to sign up and trade with CIX Markets. This means that, while other brokers may offer spread rebate programs, no deposit bonus schemes or demo trading competitions, there are no bonus offers available.

Additional Features

CIX Markets provides clients with free access to Trading Central, with users able to use daily technical analysis and several MT4 technical indicators. Additionally, the broker’s analysis team creates a daily market brief delivered to demo and live account holders each morning.

While these features are nice to have, the firm lacks some stalwart additions, such as trading calculators for clients to preview positions and a free MT4 VPS service for 24/5 automated trading.

Trading Hours

In line with the forex trading hours, CIX Markets allows trading 24/5. However, markets like spot indices will follow their local exchange hours.

Clients can access their accounts via the broker’s website or the CIX Trader platform and view their account summary or make deposits and withdrawals at any time.

CIX Markets Verdict

CIX Markets provides traders with the confidence that can only come from an established and well-regulated broker. Using a commission-free model with fully transparent spreads pricing and no hidden charges, the firm offers a solid service to UK-based traders, with the added benefit of domestic customer support. However, investors who favour low-spread trading will be disappointed by the lack of ECN account options. Additionally, a lack of information regarding supported payment methods and fees may leave a sour taste in the mouths of some prospective clients.

FAQ

Top 3 CIX Markets Alternatives

These brokers are the most similar to CIX Markets:

1. Pepperstone - Established in Australia in 2010, Pepperstone is a top-rated forex and CFD broker with over 400,000 clients worldwide. It offers access to 1,300+ instruments on leading platforms MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, maintaining low, transparent fees. Pepperstone is also regulated by trusted authorities like the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC, ensuring a secure environment for traders at all levels.
2. XTB - Founded in 2002 in Poland, XTB now serves more than 1 million clients. The forex and CFD broker combines a heavily regulated trading environment with an extensive selection of 6400+ assets and a commitment to trader satisfaction, featuring an intuitive in-house platform with superb tools to support aspiring traders.
3. CMC Markets - Established in 1989, CMC Markets is a respected broker listed on the London Stock Exchange and authorized by several tier-one regulators, including the FCA, ASIC and CIRO. More than 1 million traders from around the world have signed up with the multi-award winning brokerage.

CIX Markets Feature Comparison

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