Beware! Finam is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.

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Finam is a Russian broker that should not be of interest to clients outside of Russia. The company is indeed licensed, but that doesn’t really mean anything for non-Russians because it would still need other licenses in order to operate across different jurisdictions. Not to mention that the information from the Central Bank of Russia regarding Finam is very limited, and one cannot be sure what the license is all about.

In this particular review, we’ll focus on the domain finamfx.ru, and will provide all the details you need to know about Finam.

Finam Regulation and safety of funds

Guaranteed FundsSegregated AccountsNegative balance protection
Finam
UK regulated brokers£85 000YesYes
EU regulated brokers€20 000YesYes
AU regulated brokersNoYesYes
US regulted brokersYesYesNo

Finam is licensed by the Russian Central Bank, so it can reasonably be considered a legit broker. According to the CBR website, the company has been listed as a “Professional participant in the securities market” since 2015, and it has 2 authorised websites – forex. finam.ru and finamfx.ru. That said, we still cannot recommend Finam to traders outside of Russia, and now we’ll explain why.

First off, a license issued by CBR is only for Russia. Clients outside of the country won’t be protected, and whenever they deposit with Finam, they may consider the funds at risk. The second argument is that Russian Forex regulations are so to speak loose, as there aren’t many customer protection rules in place. So, if you live in a country where FX licenses are not mandatory, you may still have the chance to trade with Finam, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

Thirdly, and most importantly, we should take into account the recent events. As you know, Russia is sanctioned, so it will be unlikely that a deposit with Finam would easily pass through unless it’s crypto. Even if it did, however, there is no guarantee that you will receive any withdrawals whatsoever. Hence, with those things considered, we strongly advise against trading with Finam. It’s a risky broker in a risky country, so make sure to avoid it and find adequately regulated companies instead.

Choosing your broker may very well depend on where you are located. For British traders, it’s always best to go for a broker licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In the EU, the majority of companies are regulated by CySEC in Cyprus; for Australians, you’d better look for ASIC brokers; in the US, it’s best to stick to CFTC/NFA brokers. And if you live somewhere else, where, for example, the local Forex regulations are not mandatory, it’s still recommended to trade with FX providers regulated by respectable authorities. They provide segregated accounts, negative balance protection and, depending on the country, deposit insurance funds may be available. For example, clients of CySEC brokers can claim up to €20 000, while in the UK, the coverage is up to £85 000 per person.

Here, you can see a snapshot from the license proof:

Finam Trading software

Analytical toolsAuto tradingCustom indicatorsMobile apps
Finam platform30+ indicatorsAndroid and iOS
MT430+ indicatorsAndroid and iOS
MT550+ indicatorsAndroid and iOS
cTrader40+ indicatorsAndroid and iOS

Finam has decent software – MetaTrader 4, which alongside MetaTrader 5, is the best platform for retail trading. This, however, does not change the fact that Finam is an exceptionally risky broker. Almost all legitimate brokers will offer either of both, so considering a deposit with Finam is a bad idea anyway.

Speaking of MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, both platforms are considered the best options for retail Forex. MT5 is the newest and is considered the better version, but even if you trade with MT4, you’ll still have access to automated trading, custom indicators and plenty of analytical tools.

Finam Trading instruments

CurrencyStocksIndicesCryptoCommodities
FinamYesYesYesYesYes
XMYesYesYesYesYes
FBSYesYesYesYesYes
FXTMYesYesYesYesYes

Browsing through the website, one may think that only Forex is available, but that’s not actually the case. Finamfx.ru and Finam.ru use practically the same platform, so we can reasonably assume that the asset classes are many, including Forex, Crypto, Commodities, Indices, Shares and so forth. Things may depend on the type of accounts, but in any case, if you want to trade more than Forex, it shouldn’t be a problem. That said, Finam offers pretty much the same instruments as any other broker, so yet again, there is no reason to trade with the company.

Finam Spreads and cost of trading

FinamXMFBSFXTM
Spread EURUSD1.7 pips1.711.1
Spread GBPUSD1.7 pips1.31.21.4
Spread USDJPY3.4 pips1.31.21.4

The cost of trading is not particularly high, as the EUR/USD spread we encountered was 1.7 pips. A standard rate, actually, but bear in mind that most other brokers may offer even better spreads and lower costs of trading, respectively.

Finam Maximum leverage

ForexStocksCryptoGoldIndices
Finam broker40:1
UK regulated brokers30:15:110:110:1
EU regulated brokers30:15:12:110:110:1
AU regulated brokers30:15:12:110:110:1
US regulated brokers50:1

The maximum leverage is 40:1 for FX Majors, a ratio that’s not so risky but still prohibited in many places, including the US, EU, UK and Australia. Therefore, it goes without saying that Finam’s service will be practically illegal in those jurisdictions. We already told you that, but here we have another proof of it.

Information about leverage on other instruments is not available.

Finam Deposit and withdrawal methods

Deposit timeWithdrawal timePrice
Bank wire2-5 business days2-5 business days$25+
Credit cardInstant24 hoursFree
Crypto24 hours24 hoursFee depends on crypto

Finam fails to disclose the available funding methods. There is literally nothing about it, and we couldn’t check the deposit system either. Our registration didn’t pass through, so we cannot confirm any payment method. Nevertheless, sources reveal that Credit/Debit cards, Bank Wires and Crypto are available among other Russian payment wallets.

Finam Minimum deposit

FinamXMFBSFXTM
Minimum deposit$1000$5$10$5

Finam also fails to explicitly state its deposit requirements, but judging by the information on the website, it seems that the minimum is $1000. Note that the website is available in Russian only, so some of the information will be certainly not fully verified. Whatever the deposit requirement, though, Finam remains a broker for Russian clients only, so if you live somewhere else, make sure to avoid this broker.

Finam Withdrawal requirements

Trading volumeFee/Tax on withdrawalMinimum withdrawal
Finam / offshore brokersNot specifiedNot specifiedNot specified
UK regulated brokersNoNoNo
EU regulated brokersNoNoNo
AU regulated brokersNoNoNo
US regulated brokersNoNoNo

The withdrawal requirements are missing, as well. We can’t say for sure whether Russian brokers are always as shady, but Finam is certainly below acceptable standards. They hide pretty much everything about their services, which ones again shows that Finam is not reliable. Avoid it.

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