S2Trade Review by professional Forex trading experts the “ForexSQ” FX trading team, Finding out everything you need to know about the broker is in this S2Trade Review.
S2Trade Review
S2Trade is a forex broker, offering multiple account types, as described above. The fact two variants of each account type are present is more interesting. While one of them is a typical forex trading account, the other one is based on an ECN pricing model, which features commissions. Strangely enough conditions are vastly different for the two.
The Company. Security of Funds
Company Country Regulation
GOLDTECH MEDIA SERVICES OÜ Estonia N/A
S2trade is owned by GOLDTECH MEDIA SERVICES OÜ, an Estonian company. That being said, they are not regulated by any appropriate agency. This is quire troublesome for us, as we generally recommend avoiding unregulated brokers.
The reason for that is quite simple – when trading with such a company, there is no guarantee you will ever get to withdraw money from your account (regardless of your trading performance). There are still a lot of scammers in the online (and offline) space, but most countries have created dedicated agencies to ensure a fair environment,
For instance the UK has the Financial Services Authority (FCA). It is one of the most reputable watchdogs, which enforces stringent rules on the brokers, it oversees. When it comes to the security of your funds two major rulings stand-out: the segregation of client accounts and the mandatory participation in the compensation scheme.
Segregated client accounts implies the company can not freely access its traders’ capital and spend it on company needs. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), on the other hand, is a mechanism, which acts similarly to an insurance company. Brokers transfer small portions of their profits to a collective pool, which then serves as a guarantee against any one of them becoming insolvent. If you trade with an FCA-regulated broker, who happens to go bankrupt, your funds will be guaranteed up to £50,000.
Trading Conditions
Minimum Initial Deposit
S2Trade demands a minimum of $500, as an initial deposit. While this may not seem like a lot to some of you, this is actually a very high level given the current offers by other brokers. Most companies nowadays, like Windsor Brokers, require something in the $100 range.
That being said, the minimum deposit shouldn’t be a major consideration for you, presuming you can afford it. By itself the level does not reveal anything about the broker’s credibility.
Average spreads & Commissions
Spreads at S2Trade are an interesting topic. While there are multiple account types, based on the size of one’s initial deposit, they are also further divided into two groups. The stunning thing is that the ECN ones offer much better conditions than the regular ones. So … who would ever choose to trade with the non-commission accounts? Unless there is a typo on the company’s website, or the commissions are not round-turn, this makes no sense.
An easy way to convert the standard MT4 commissions in to effective spread is this:
For every $1 in commission per lot, you add 0.1 pips to the spread.
This rule does comes with a few conditions, like the fact it only applies for pairs where the USD is the quote (second) currency.
The picture is fairly mixed, when it comes to the spreads provided by S2Trade. The conditions for the better account types even seem surprisingly good. That being said, you can always compare the conditions, provided by some of the world’s leading brokers here.
Leverage
The leverage cap at S2Trade is 1:200. While this is a perfectly suitable ratio, you may think it is rather low, given the fact many brokers offer much greater levels. XM even uses their leverage ratio as a marketing tool – the company offers 1:888.
Keep in mind, all margin trading, no matter the exact “gearing” can be dangerous. Be sure to fully understand the risks involved, before proceeding to trade.
Trading Platforms
S2Trade offer MetaTrader4 (MT4) as their platform of choice. They are certainly not unique in that regard, as this is the wold’s most popular currency trading platform. While it provides extraordinary charting and can handle a lot of instruments, MT4 also has some downsides. The most prevalent one, which experienced day traders will spot immediately is the lack of multiple monitor support.
On the other hand MT4 offers a lot of custom tools, like newly developed technical indicators and automated trading systems. We have reviewed some of them here.
That being said, here is a preview of the platform provided by S2Trade:
Methods of Payment
S2Trade accepts deposits via several methods, which include Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card, Skrill and Neteller. While the e-wallets are rather few, at least they are the most popular ones.
S2Trade is an unregulated forex broker. The company offers multiple account types, with interesting variations of the trading conditions. The fact, the same minimum deposit can get two totally different account types is bizarre. That being said, this is still an unregulated company, so we must take everything with a grain of salt.
The Broker is not a safe forex broker, Instead you can use Plus500, XM, eToro, Fxpro or AvaTrade forex brokers.
S2Trade Review Conclusion
For more information about currency trading brokers visit TopForexBrokers.com forex brokers comparison website, Tip ForexSQ.com foreign exchange trading experts please by share this article about S2Trade Review.