Beware! Leadway Index is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.
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Leadway Index promises us a regulated and transparent environment for trading in the financial markets. But fact checking shows that if you trust these assurances you will end up scammed. In this review, we will show you the evidence that Leadway Index is not the established and reliable forex broker it claims to be and point you towards more credible alternatives for financial trading.
Leadway Index Regulation and safety of funds
Guaranteed Funds | Segregated Accounts | Negative balance protection | |
Leadway Index | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
UK regulated brokers | £85 000 | Yes | Yes |
EU regulated brokers | €20 000 | Yes | Yes |
AU regulated brokers | No | Yes | Yes |
US regulted brokers | Yes | Yes | No |
Leadway Index does not disclose who is behind the website. The Terms and Conditions are only a few paragraphs long and do not contain any specific information, including the name of a legal entity or details of a regulatory licence.
Legitimate forex brokers provide clear and detailed information about the legal entity that owns and operates them, where it is based, what licences it has and which regulators oversee its activities. Lack of such details or improper presentation of them are always a red flag that we are probably dealing with a scam.
A UK contact address is listed.
But such an anonymous website could not possibly provide financial services in a regulated jurisdiction. Checking the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register leads us to a warning that LLL is not an authorised financial services provider.
If you want to trade on financial markets without being scammed, you can turn to some of the legitimate brokers that actually operate from established financial hubs like the UK. These brokers have to meet stringent requirements for financial stability and transparency of operations imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). They must provide clients with negative balance protection and to participate in a guarantee fund that covers up to GBP 85,000 of a client’s investment should the broker go into insolvency. These brokers are also required to keep their clients’ money segregated from their own operating funds in separate bank accounts.
Leadway Index Trading software
Analytical tools | Auto trading | Custom indicators | Mobile apps | |
Leadway Index platform | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
MT4 | 30+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
MT5 | 50+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
cTrader | 40+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
The homepage of the website advertises an advanced platform for forex and CFD trading.
But after registering an account, we get access to very rudimentary software that only includes cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, this platform is for binary options trading, not forex trading.
Binary options trading is a very simplistic form of trading that is associated with a lot of scams. This type of trading is banned by most financial regulators, including the FCA.
Legitimate brokers offer clients a wide selection of trading software, including desktop, mobile apps and web-based platforms. The most widely used platforms in the industry are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). These platforms have established themselves as industry standard because they offer a wide range of features, including a variety of options for customization, multiple account usage, designing and implementing custom scripts for automated trading and backtesting trade strategies.
Leadway Index Trading instruments
Currency | Stocks | Indices | Crypto | Commodities | |
Leadway Index | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
XM | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
FP Markets | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Octa | x | x | x | x | x |
Leadway Index recalms trading in currency moves, stocks, indices and cryptocurrencies. But as demonstrated, this website does not have a license, and the trading software only includes cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, financial regulations in the United Kingdom prohibit brokers who are licensed in that jurisdiction from offering crypto derivatives trading.
Leadway Index Spreads and cost of trading
Leadway Index | XM | FP Markets | Octa | |
Spread EURUSD | ❌ | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
Spread GBPUSD | ❌ | 1.3 | 1.5 | x |
Spread USDJPY | ❌ | 1.3 | 1.5 | x |
Leadway Index does not provide any information about the parameters of the trade it claims to offer. Genuine forex brokers provide detailed information about the trading conditions. Legitimate companies also offer different account types to suit clients with different experience, capital and investment intentions.
Leadway Index Maximum leverage
Forex | Stocks | Crypto | Gold | Indices | |
Leadway Index | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
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 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Trading with high leverage allows higher profits, but also increases the risk of sudden and excessive losses proportionally. All leading regulators limit leverage for retail traders. In the EU, UK and Australia the maximum permitted level is 1:30 and in the US it is 1:50.
Regulated brokers offer higher leverage only to professional clients who must meet very high standards for capital and experience and forgo the guarantees enjoyed by retail traders.
If you don’t qualify as a professional trader but are willing to take the risk of high-leverage trading, the most viable option is to use the services of an offshore affiliate of an established brand.
Leadway Index Deposit and withdrawal methods
Deposit time | Withdrawal time | Price | |
Crypto | 24 hours | 24 hours | Fee depends on crypto |
On the home page we see the logos of multiple payment methods:
But in the deposit menu itself, the choice is limited to different cryptocurrencies:
Scammers prefer cryptocurrencies because these transactions are not subject to refunds. While there are some legitimate brokers that accept digital currencies like Bitcoin, they do so alongside other transparent payment methods such as credit/debit card, bank transfer or popular e-wallets like PayPal, Neteller or Skrill.
Leadway Index Minimum deposit
Leadway Index | XM | FP Markets | Octa | |
Minimum deposit | $500 | $5 | $100 | $100 |
Leadway Index requires a minimum deposit of 500 USD. You should know that for 50 USD or even just 5 USD you could open a starter trading account with some of the industry’s leading brands.
Leadway Index Withdrawal requirements
Trading volume | Fee/Tax on withdrawal | Minimum withdrawal | |
Leadway Index | 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 |
Since Leadway Index does not provide proper legal documentation, it is unclear what traps the fraudsters may have set. Typically, fake brokers make withdrawing money impossible through huge fees and impossible-to-fulfil traded volume conditions.