Trading Accounts
| Account type | Minimum deposit | Minimum trade size | Maximum leverage | Average Spreads |
| Micro | $5 | 0.01 | 1:500 | 1.7 pip on EUR/USD |
| Standard | $5 | 0.01 | 1:500 | 1.7 pip on EUR/USD |
| Zero | $100 | 0.01 | 1:500 | 0.1 pips on EUR/USD + $7 / lot (round trip) |
What is more, swap-free (Islamic) accounts are available, designated for clients who are not willing to earn interest for religious reasons.
The Company. Security of Funds
| Company | Country | Regulation |
| Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd. | Cyprus | CySEC |
| Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Limited | UK | FCA |
| Trading Point of Financial Instruments PTY Ltd. | Australia | ASIC |
Based on the sunny island of Cyprus, XM offers great trading conditions for trading in a wide range of instruments, including currency trading, CFDs on commodities, indices, precious metals, energies and stocks on two trading platforms (MT4 and MT5). What is more, XM provides ultra-fast execution (99.35% of all trades executed in less than 1 second), as well as awesome bonuses & promotions.
XM is a brand name of Trading Point Holdings Ltd, which wholly owns Trading Point of Financial Instruments UK Ltd (XM UK), Trading Point of Financial Instruments Pty Ltd (XM Australia) and Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd (XM Cyprus).
FCA, CySEC and ASIC apply certain rules and requirements to regulated firms, which are not as stringent as those in the US, for instance, however they provide a good level of credibility. Besides, licensed brokers are required to keep customer funds in segregated accounts, separated from the company’s operating funds.
As a further guarantee to clients’ funds, all companies regulated in UK and Cyprus are covered by compensation schemes as additional guarantee to clients funds. All deposits with a UK regulated forex broker up to £50,000 per client are guaranteed by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) - UK’s statutory compensation scheme for clinets of authorised financial services companies. Similarly, Cypriot Investment Firms are members of the Investor Compensation Fund, which is able to pay compensation up to 20,000 EUR, If the company is in default.
Currently, however, Australian forex brokers are not covered by any compensation scheme.
Trading Conditions
Minimum Initial Deposit
In order to open an account with XM, traders have to invest just $5. Such low minimum initial amount is rather attractive, as typically brokers require $100 - $300 as a start.
Spreads & Commissions
This broker offers variable spreads. The typical ones on commission-free accounts amount to 1.7 pips on EUR/USD. According to us, the conditions on the Zero account are better: spreads averaged 0.1 pips on EUR/USD and commission $3.5 per standard lot traded (per side). So, basically trading costs on the Zero account amount to around 0.8 pips, commission included, which is a great offer. What is more, you can open a Zero account with just $100.
Leverage
XM offers flexible leverage between 1:1 to 1:500. Using leverage means that you can trade positions larger than the amount of money in your trading account. Leverage amount is expressed as a ratio, for instance 50:1, 100:1, or 500:1. Assuming that you have $1,000 in your trading account and you trade ticket sizes of 500,000 USD/JPY, your leverage will equate 500:1.
Trading Platforms
When trading with this broker, you will be offered both MetaQuuotes;s platforms - the Metatrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5).
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. The MT4 with XM is availavle in all forms and shapes: desktop, web, and mobile.
What is more, XM provides MT4 MultiTerminal, which offers a practical and convenient way to manage multiple accounts simultaneously from a single interface (PAMM).
Recently MetaQuotes has been putting a stronger emphasis on the MT5: the hedging function was finally added to it and all versions of the platform have been ehanced. As a result, the number of brokers that support the platform has been on the increase. XM also followed suit and added it to its offerings.
Besides, free Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is offered to both new and existing customers of XM who deposit a minimum of $5,000 and trade at least 5 round turn lots per month. VPS hosting allows the execution of orders 24 hours, 5 days a week.
Promotions
- Free VPS for clients who maintain a balance (Equity-Credit) USD 5,000 or currency equivalent. No end date for this promotion;
- $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 $500 and 20% deposit bonus up to $5,000. 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. No end date for this promotion.
*Clients registered under Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd are not eligible for bonuses.
Deposit/Withdraw Methods
XM accepts the most commonly used Local Payment methods today including Credit/Debit Card, Neteller, Skrill, Bank Wire Transfer, etc. Their coverage is quite extensive and adds more flexibility on adding funds into the account
XM covers all deposit and withdrawal transfer fees for payments made via Neteller, Moneybookers and all major credit cards (including VISA, VISA Electron, MasterCard, Maestro and China UnionPay). Additionally, all deposits and withdrawals above 200 USD processed by wire transfer are also included in our zero fees policy.
Conclusion
XM is a EU award-winning broker that offers wide range of trading products and account types on two great platforms under competitive conditions. What is more, it provides Negative Balance Protection, as well as lucrative bonuses to its clients. To sum up the above, here are the advantages and drawbacks with regards to this broker:
| Pros | Cons |
| Well-regulated (FCA, ASIC and CySEC licenses) | No significant disadvantages |
| Negative Balance Protection | |
| Low trading costs on the Zero account | |
| MT4 and MT5 available | |
| Attractive Promotions | |
| Fast execution speed |