XM Review 2024 – The best global forex broker?

Company Information

Launched back in 2009 by a team of ex-interbank dealers, XM (Formerly XEMarkets) is a globally renowned award-winning forex and CFD broker.

Having its origin in the sunny island of Cyprus, in Limassol, XM offers great conditions for trading in wide range of instruments, including forex pairs, CFDs on commodities, indices, precious metals and energies. What is more, XM provides ultra-fast execution, support for well over 20 languages, as well as awesome bonuses and promotions. Bonuses are not available for clients registered under the EU/AU/MENA regulated entity.

Regulation & Safety

XM Group is a group of regulated online brokers. Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd was established in 2009 and it is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC 120/10), Trading Point of Financial Instruments Pty Ltd was established in 2015 and it is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC 443670), XM Global Limited was established in 2017 and is regulated by the Financial Services Commission (000261/397) and Trading Point MENA Limited was established in 2019 and is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (F003484).

CySEC, ASIC and DFSA are top-tier financial regulators and all brokerages licensed by one of those, have to meet certain set requirements, and are subjected to strict supervision. This means that clients of any such brokers can trade with the ease of mind that their funds are safe and their interests protected by the respective laws.

Negative Balance Protection (NBP)

Additionally, each one of the XM companies listed above provides its clients with Negative Balance Protection. This means that if a client’s account balance goes into negative as a result of the fast-pacing volatile market, it still will be brought to a zero by the broker. We recommend that you choose among brokers who provide NBP, so that you may trade with the certainty that you can’t lose more money than you have invested.

Trading Conditions

Overall, the conditions offered by XM are really attractive. Here are some of the highlights:

• the minimum initial deposit is just $5, a symbolically low amount to start with;
• competitive variable spreads;
• flexible leverage with maximum levels in line with the regulations applicable in each country the broker operates;
• you cannot lose more than you have deposited because of the Negative Balance Protection provided;
• low-risk trading in micro lots available on all account types.

Keep in mind that the trading conditions vary a bit, depending on the actual entity and the jurisdiction it operates in. This is due to XM’s commitment to complying with the laws applicable in each country.

For EU, AU and Dubai regulated entities the leverage has been set to 1:30 max. Clients registered under XM Global Limited are not bound by this rule and can be afforded a maximum leverage of 1:1000

CySEC trading accounts

ASICs Trading Accounts

DFSA Trading Accounts

FSC Trading Accounts

What is more, both XM Group and XM Global offer swap-free (Islamic) accounts, designated for clients who are not willing to earn interest for religious reasons.

Leverage depends on the financial instrument traded. Leverage is fixed 30:1 for clients registered under EU/AU and MENA regulated entity.

Trading Platforms

XM offers its clients two of the most popular platforms in the trading world: the industry’s standard Metatrader 4 (MT4), and its most recent version, the MetaTrader 5 (MT5).  Both platforms are developed by the Russian software company MetaQuotes Software Corp, and come in all forms and shapes: desktop, web, and mobile (for iOS and Android devices).

MT4 is an internationally acclaimed trading software, offering a full array of trading tools and features: more than 50 built-in technical indicators, advanced charting package, a wide range of Expert Advisors (EAs) and extensive back-testing options for them. Traders can download ready-made or create their own EAs and let the program do all the work, no human emotions involved. Also, this saves up a considerable amount of time from the routine of market watch as well as trade execution.

What is more, XM provides MT4 MultiTerminal – a practical and convenient way to manage multiple accounts simultaneously from a single interface.

The MetaTrader 5, on the other hand, has kept most of the highly praised features of the MT4, and has one outstanding advantage. MT5 users can trade in derivatives such as forex and CFDs, and exchange-traded stocks, from one and the same account.

Clients of XM BZ who maintain a minimum trading account balance of 500 USD, or equivalent in other currencies, are eligible to request for free VPS from the Members Area at any given time, on condition that they trade at least 2 standard round turn lots or 200 micro round turn lots per month.

Clients registered under the CySEC (EU) entity can request the XM VPS in the Members Area for a USD 28 monthly fee.

The VPS is especially useful for traders using auto-trading bots and allows for executing the scripts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Signals trading is also available for XM clients. All account holders are entitled to free and unlimited access to the trading signals hub, where they can get daily forex signals for some of the most popular financial instruments.

Promotions

By the time of writing this review, XM runs the following promotions:

• Free VPS for clients who maintain a minimum trading account balance of USD 500 or currency equivalent for the clients who registered under XM Global. Clients registered under the CySEC (EU) entity can request the XM VPS in the Members Area for a USD 28 monthly fee.
• $30 Non-Deposit Trading Bonus for new clients only. No end date for this promotion;
• The two-tier deposit bonus offers 50% deposit bonus up to USD 500 and 20% deposit bonus up to USD 4,500. No end date for this promotion
• The XM Loyalty Program offers the clients XM Points (XMP) per lot traded. These XMP can be redeemed at any time for credit bonus which can be used for trading purposes only.

Promotions vary between the XM entities. For further information, please visit the XM website.

Keep in mind that Trading bonus and Loyalty Program are not eligible for clients registered under Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (CySEC) and Trading Point of Financial Instruments Pty Ltd (ASIC).

Methods of Payment

XM supports wide range of account currencies and payment methods. XM Group is accepting the most commonly used Local Payment methods today including Credit/Debit Card, Neteller, Skrill, WebMoney, Bank Wire Transfer, etc.

What is more, the broker covers all deposit and withdrawal transfer fees for payments made via Neteller, Skrill and all major credit cards (including VISA, VISA Electron, MasterCard, Maestro and China UnionPay).

Also XM covers all deposits and withdrawals fees via bank wire above USD 200.

Conclusion

XM is a reliable award-winning FX and CFDs broker that offers pretty good trading conditions. To sum up the above, here are the advantages and drawbacks with regards to this broker:

Pros                                                                                                       Cons

Solid regulation                                                       No significant disadvantages

Negative Balance Protection

Competitive spreads, low initial deposit

MT4 & MT5 both available

Attractive Bonuses & Promotions

Fast execution speed

* Please note that the products, services and features advertised here vary between the XM entities. For further information, please visit the XM website