OnEquity review – 5 things you should know about onequity.com

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OnEquity is an offshore broker that shows ambition for development and strives to convey credibility – both through a good-looking and functional website and a standard but solid set of services and proven technology solutions, as well as a wide choice of payment methods. In late 2023 OnEquity took another important step in its growth by acquiring a financial services provider license in South Africa.

Offshore registration means that this broker cannot currently accept clients from regulated jurisdictions such as the European Union and the United States. But on the other hand, it allows OnEquity to offer higher leverage trading to investors who are willing to take that risk.

The cost of trade offered by the OnEquity appears to be comparable to typical industry, but some parameters are not sufficiently clear. The broker also does not offer educational materials and additional services that you will find with most leading brands.

In this review, we’ll take a detailed look at what OnEquity  offers and what pros and cons we found about this broker to help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.

OnEquity Regulation and safety of funds

The first thing to look for in a forex broker’s website is which legal entity runs it, where it is based and what regulatory oversight it is subject to. As stated, OnEquity is an offshore broker. The main company that operates it is called OnEquity Ltd and is based in the Seychelles. Checking the register of the Financial Services Authority Seychelles confirms the accuracy of the legal information on the OnEquity website.

The broker is licensed to operate in South Africa through OnEquity (Pty) Ltd, regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).

Other companies based in Cyprus and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines provide various technology and management services for the brand, but the trader is client of the Seychelles-based legal entity.

An offshore broker is not necessarily a shady or fake broker. Many large brokerage firms set up offshore subsidiaries, including in Seychelles. The aim is to be able to compete successfully in unregulated emerging markets in Asia and Africa. These companies want to maintain a good brand name, which is why they provide guarantees and transparency even for clients of their unregulated divisions.

OnEquity is not such an established brand, but the license in South Africa means greater regulatory oversight and guarantees of transparency and fairness to customers. The broker promises some of the basic protections that customers of regulated brokers receive, namely segregated accounts and negative balance protection. This means that clients’ money is held in separate bank accounts from the company’s operating funds, and that in the event of unexpected and sudden changes in the market, the trader will not lose more money than he has on his account balance.

However, you should bear in mind that the regulatory regimes in South Africa and particularly the Seychelles are much looser than in jurisdictions such as the EU, US or Australia. The financial regulations in Seychelles only require a minimum capital of 50,000 USD. By comparison, in the European Union and the United Kingdom, brokers must maintain a net capital of at least 730,000 EUR, and in the United States the requirement is a minimum of 20 million USD. In the EU and the UK, brokers must also participate in guarantee schemes that cover a certain amount of the trader’s investment if the broker becomes insolvent. These guarantees amount to up to 20 000 EUR in the EU and 85 000 GBP in the UK.

The OnEquity website is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Chinese, French and Arabic. Customers can contact website support via phone, email and live chat. OnEquity  also maintains a presence on the leading social networks – LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, Telegram and YouTube.

OnEquity Trading software

OnEquity customers have a choice between the two most widely used trading platforms in the industry, MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). Both versions of the software are available in desktop apps for Windows and Mac, mobile apps for Android and iOS devices, and a web version that is accessible through an internet browser.

MT4 has had a leading position for two decades, only in the last few years being overtaken by its successor MT5. While there are now other advanced and flexible trading platforms on the market such as cTrader, MetaTrader’s software remains preferred by most traders not only because it is familiar, but also because it has enough features to meet their needs.

MT4 features a host of charting tools and technical indicators, as well as a one-click trading function. But the functionality that has made MetaTrader a market leader is the ability to use Expert Advisor bots for automated trading. These customisable scripts can also be used to back test trading strategies.

Here is how the MT4 platform of OnEquity looks like with a Demo account:

MT5 offers even more advanced features. It uses 64 bit architecture and has more technical indicators, timeframes, and analytical objects. MT5 also has a built-in economic calendar and market depth option.

Both versions of MetaTrader software have the ability for additional customization and functionality expansion through multiple plugins and software extensions.

Some leading global brokers offer such a range of optional extras to their clients, but OnEquity is not one of them. This broker offers only the basic version of the software.

Another significant lack we noticed with OnEquity is that it does not offer a Virtual Private Server (VPS). This service allows automated trading scripts to run reliably 24/7 independent of the trader’s personal hardware and internet connection.

OnEquity also does not offer any educational materials, although this is promised in the descriptions of the account types.

At first glance, this indicates that the OnEquity is not aimed at novice investors, but more experienced traders who have sufficient knowledge and experience. But even these traders will be forced to supplement the trading experience with services such as VPS from other providers.

OnEquity Trading instruments

OnEquity offers trading in around 300 financial instruments including major and minor currency pairs, commodities, global indices, stock CFDs, spot metals and cryptocurrency CFDs. This is a pretty decent choice, which should be enough for most traders, except for those looking for investments in more exotic assets.

OnEquity Spreads and cost of trading

OnEquity offers three types of trading accounts – Plus, Prime and Elite. The base currency of the account can be USD, EUR, GBP and JPY.  All account types can freely choose between the two trading platforms MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.

OnEquity allows one client to register up to 3 trading accounts with different base currency, maximum leverage and trading platform. There is also a Demo account option. The broker also offers clients of the Islamic faith the option to use a swap-free account that meets their religious requirements against interest.

All accounts have variable spreads and there is no fixed spread option. The starter account promises a spread starting at 1.5 pip with no additional commission.  Overall, the cost of trading with this broker seems to be within the industry norm, but it cannot be said to be particularly competitive.

The other two account types, Prime and Elite, provide a much lower or raw spread. But with these accounts the trader is paying a commission of 5 USD per lot. But here we find a significant problem – OnEquity does not clarify whether these commissions are per round turn or per side. In the latter case, those accounts with a much higher minimum deposit do not offer more favorable terms than the Plus account. But more importantly, such ambiguities about the price paid by the customer are not acceptable.

This ambiguity also applies to the social trading and managed account (PAMM, or Percent allocation management module) services offered by OnEquity.

These options allow investors who do not have enough experience or enough time to make investment decisions on their own to copy the trades of established traders or trust their investments to an account manager. In turn, successful and active traders can apply to become a provider or manager. They can receive a commission from those using these services. The commission is only charged when a profit is made and its size is usually determined by the provider. However, OnEquity does not provide clear and detailed information on these commissions and other conditions related to these services.

OnEquity Maximum leverage

Due to its offshore status, OnEquity can offer quite high leverage – up to 1:1000 on major and minor forex pairs, up to 1:200 for exotic pairs, up to 1:400 on metals, up to 1:200 on commodities, up to 1:300 on indices and 1:50 on cryptocurrency CFDs. The maximum leverage on stock CFDs is 1:5.

By comparison, regulations in the European Union limit the maximum leverage for retail traders to 1:30 for major currency pairs, 1:20 for non-major pairs, gold and major indices, 1:10 for other commodities and non-major indices, and 1:2 for cryptocurrencies. Financial regulators in the United Kingdom and Australia impose identical limits, and in the United States the maximum leverage for forex is 1:50.

OnEquity applies a dynamic leverage model, which means that these maximum levels are only available up to a certain trading volume. Once a certain volume is passed, the broker lowers the maximum leverage, with the levels varying by asset class. When trading major and minor currency pairs, for example, the maximum leverage of 1:1000 is only allowed if the client’s orders do not exceed one standard lot of 100,000 currency units. For exposures between 2 and 10 lots, the maximum leverage is reduced to 1:500, and for volume above 300 lots, leverage is limited to 1:5.

High leverage creates the opportunity for more significant profit, but correspondingly increases the risk of sudden and excessive losses. 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. Trading with higher leverage is also possible through offshore subsidiaries of established brands.

OnEquity Deposit and withdrawal methods

One of the things that OnEquity does well is the wide choice of payment methods. The options available may vary depending on the region you’re in, but invariably you’ll have the option of credit/debit cards, wire transfer, and popular e-wallets like Skrill, Neteller, PerfectMoney and AstroPay, as well as cryptocurrencies.

OnEquity  also uses some locally specific payment providers such as FairPay, Payretailers, PaymentAsia, Epay, Help2Pay, PIX/TED, LuqaPay, DeltaPay and Swiffy.

OnEquity does not charge commissions for deposits and withdrawals, but some methods such as bank transfers and cryptocurrencies do incur fees. These payment methods also do not allow for refunds or chargebacks to be requested.

OnEquity Minimum deposit

OnEquity requires a minimum deposit of 25 USD for a starter account. This puts it among the brokers with a low entry threshold, but you should know that many of the industry’s leading brands offer Micro and Cent accounts with even lower minimum deposit.

OnEquity’s Prime and Elite accounts require a much higher minimum investment of 1,000 USD and 5,000 USD respectively. Many brokers require a higher deposit for ECN accounts with a raw spread, but the requirements rarely exceed 500 USD. Furthermore, as stated, the vague terms of these accounts make it difficult for us to assess whether they offer better cost for the trader than the Plus account. Therefore, you should think carefully whether it is worth it depending on your investment intentions.

OnEquity Withdrawal requirements

As stated, OnEquity does not charge its own fees and commissions for depositing and withdrawing funds. There is no stated minimum withdrawal amount. We do not find any unusual withdrawal requirements in the text of the Client Agreement, other than the standard anti-money laundering measure that withdrawals must be made using the same payment method used for deposits.

Unlike other offshore brokers, OnEquity does not offer bonuses, promotions or prize games. These practices are banned by most financial regulators, and shady brokers and scammers often use bonuses to tie withdrawals to extortionate or even impossible to meet requirements and hidden fees. The lack of bonus offers on the OnEquity website means there is no reason to expect such unpleasant surprises.