RECOMMENDED FOREX BROKERS
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Open trading accounts with at least two brokers.
Neotrades is an offshore broker who claims to be based and regulated in Mauritius. The registers of the local Financial Services Authority can prove that, however this still doesn’t change the fact how weak and flawed this regulation is. So if you consider investing here, there are a couple of things you should know before putting your money on the line.
Apart from that, note that Neotrades requires quite a high minimum deposit and also offers very risky leverage that is not recommended for retail traders. Because of that and everything said so far, you should really think twice before dealing with this broker. You can read the full review for more details.
Neotrades Regulation and safety of funds
So let’s start straight from the beginning. Neotrades claims to be based and fully regulated in Mauritius and posts a license number as well as a registered address. Of course we searched the registers of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Mauritius and there really is a company with the same name. No other information is displayed though – there is no address, domain name or contact details, but we assume it’s the same firm we are dealing with.
And even though this broker happens to be authorized, there’s still an issue we would like to discuss. Note that this is an offshore regulation that brings a lower level of client protection and has some flaws. It’s still better than nothing of course, however it can’t compete with much more strict regulations like the ones of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). That’s why any investment here would be at your own risk.
Apart from that Neotrades claims to partner with a Cyprus based company named NTrade Services Ltd. However this company is certainly not licensed by CySEC, as we searched its registers and there was no data about it.
All in all, we recommend you think carefully before making the move and invest your money here. As we mentioned, this offshore regulation is not so reliable so maybe you should look for a broker that is authorized by FCA, CySEC, ASIC or some other well-known jurisdiction.
Neotrades Trading software
Analytical tools | Auto trading | Custom indicators | Mobile apps | |
Neotrades platform | 30+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
MT4 | 30+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
MT5 | 50+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
cTrader | 40+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
Neotrades claims to offer the popular MetaTrader 5. After we registered the WebTrader that was presented to us looked like this:
Apart from that we managed to download MT5 however we couldn’t log in as the broker didn’t send us any details and that seemed rather suspicious.
There are many legitimate brokers that are authorized by well-known financial authorities and provide MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 anyway. So if you have the slightest doubt in this firm’s credibility, better stay safe and look for an alternative.
Neotrades Trading instruments
Currency | Stocks | Indices | Crypto | Commodities | |
Neotrades | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
XM | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
FBS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FXTM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Neotrades claims to offer several trading instruments like forex, commodities, shares and indices. Nothing more, nothing less. It surely doesn’t sound that impressive, so now you have one more reason to avoid investing here. Instead you can search for a truly reliable and genuine broker, who can provide a wider choice of assets.
Neotrades Spreads and cost of trading
Neotrades | XM | FBS | FXTM | |
Spread EURUSD | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1 | 1.1 |
Spread GBPUSD | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
Spread USDJPY | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
On the trading software there was a spread of 1.1 pips for EURUSD and GBPUSD, as well as of 1.6 pips for USDJPY. The first two are not bad at all to be honest, even though you can find reputable brokers offering even less. Anyway, always remember that spreads below 2 pips are much more advantageous as they come with lower trading costs.
Neotrades Maximum leverage
Forex | Stocks | Crypto | Gold | Indices | |
Neotrades broker | 500:1 | 200:1 | 100:1 | 150:1 | 200:1 |
UK regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | ❌ | 10:1 | 10:1 |
EU regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | 2:1 | 10:1 | 10:1 |
AU regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | 2:1 | 10:1 | 10:1 |
US regulated brokers | 50:1 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Neotrade claims to offer three account types – Standard, Advanced and Expert. Take a look at some more details about them:
The maximum leverage for all of them is said to be 1:500. Now that’s quite a bit. No matter how appealing it may seem, remember that the higher the leverage is, the greater the risk gets. That’s why such amounts are not recommended for retail traders. As a matter of fact, the strictest jurisdictions have capped the leverage as an attempt to minimize the potential risk of failure. To be precise, the limits are 1:30 for the UK, Australia and the whole European Union, as well as 1:50 for the US for example. In Mauritius however there are no restrictions but as we mentioned its regulation is much more flawed. If you still are willing to risk and to trade with higher leverage, we suggest looking at some of the offshore subsidiaries of reputable forex brokers.
Neotrades Deposit and withdrawal methods
Deposit time | Withdrawal time | Fee | |
Maestro | Not specified | Not specified | No information |
Bank transfer | Not specified | Not specified | No information |
Crypto | Not specified | Not specified | No information |
On its website Neotrades claims to accept different credit cards like Visa, Mastercard and Maestro, as well as some popular e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller.
After we registered and tried to add funds to our account however, the options were more or less different. There was Maestro, bank transfer and a lot of crypto coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Litecoin and more. Take a look:
Now, crypto transactions are commonly associated with fraud, just because they are completely irreversible and anonymous at the same time. To be honest a lot of the scammers tend to use them exactly because of that – this way the possibility to get your money back is down to zero. For this reason, we encourage you to use crypto coins one and only with trustworthy, regulated brokers you can rely on.
In this case, the existence of crypto payments seems rather suspicious, as they were not mentioned on this broker’s website. At the same time, some of the other options are missing, so at this point you can draw your own conclusions.
Neotrades Minimum deposit
Neotrades | XM | FBS | FXTM | |
Minimum deposit | $1000 | $5 | $10 | $5 |
The minimum deposit this broker requires is 1000 USD, which is too much in our opinion. There’s no point in investing so much, given the fact that there are plenty of legitimate firms who offer micro accounts for as little as 10 USD. Apart from that, even regular accounts require around 250 USD, which is way less than what Neotrades asks for.
Neotrades Withdrawal requirements
Trading volume | Fee/Tax on withdrawal | Minimum withdrawal | |
Neotrades | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified |
UK regulated brokers | No | No | No |
EU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
AU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
US regulated brokers | No | No | No |
In its Client Agreement this broker states that “you shall pay our charges as agreed with you from time to time” and also adds that there might be some additional costs and taxes. However nothing more is specified as for example if there are any deposit/withdrawal fees. Reputable brokers don’t usually ask for such fees, but that applies for truly licensed firms by strict jurisdictions. In the case of Neotrades, you can’t be 100% sure that there won’t be some unfavorable charges. The absence of decent information about this broker’s withdrawal requirements is not a good sign to be honest.
In addition, Neotrades also mentions that there is a 0.5% conversion fee that is applied when the “account base currency is different from the traded instrument”.
As a whole, we advise you to think twice before investing here. Even though this broker is truly licensed, there are still some disadvantages in its regulation and the services it provides.