Financika Trade Review

WHO IS FINANCIKA TRADE?      

According to research in South Africa FINANCIKA TRADE is operated by Sharp Trading Ltd. In Port Vila, Vanuatu and is a leading provider of online trading services, like Forex, indices, stocks, commodities and CFDs.

Although FINANCIKA claims to have an office in Vanuatu, it states that the customer support office is located in Bulgaria and all payments administration services are processed from Larnaca, Cyprus.

The company is however not regulated by any of these authorities except the Vanuatu license – an offshore license that is considered easy to get.

SAFE OR SCAM

One of the best benchmarks to measure the safety of a broker like FINANCIKA TRADE, is to establish which regulating authorities are watchdogs over its actions.

FINANCIKA TRADE is not a licensed broker. It is owned by FINANCIKA TRADE (SHARP TRADING) LTD based in Vanuatu and registered with the local Financial Services Commission (VFSC).  This commission has a minimum capital requirement of only $2 000, which basically allows anyone to set-up a brokerage there.

Although FINANCIKA TRADE claims to have a customer support office in Bulgaria and payments administration services are processed from Larnaca, Cyprus, the company is not regulated by any of those authorities except the Vanuatu license.

On top of that FINANCIKA TRADE has been blacklisted by French regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) in December 2016. In the same year the CNMV (Spain) warned that FINANCIKA was not authorised to provide investment services and ASIC (Australia) warned against such unlicensed entities too.

PRO AND CONS

LEVERAGE

Leverage is a facility that enables you to get a much larger exposure to the market you are trading than the amount you deposited to open the trade. Leveraged products, such as forex trading, magnify your potential profit – but also increase your potential loss.

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.

Margin is the amount of collateral to cover any credit risks that may arise during your trading operations. It is expressed as the percentage of position size (e.g. 5% or 1%), and you have to have funds in your trading account to ensure sufficient margin.

For example, on a 1% margin a position of $1,000,000 will require a deposit of $10,000. The margin level in a trading account needs to be equal or more than 100% to be able to open new trades, otherwise your trading account will be fully hedged.

FINANCIKA TRADE offers a maximum leverage ratio of 1:200 – for Forex. Leverage for CFD trading is 10:1 on stocks and 100:1 on market indices.

ACCOUNTS   

A forex account at FINANCIKA TRADE is a trading account that you will hold and that will work similarly to your bank account, but with the difference that it is primarily issued with the purpose of trading on currencies.

Forex Islamic accounts are also known as swap-free accounts as they imply no swap or rollover interest on overnight positions, which is against Islamic faith.

Often, the number and type of accounts that a trader can open with a broker company differs depending on the country in which it operates and the regulation authorities under whose jurisdiction it falls.

FINANCIKA TRADE seems to offer just one standard account. The minimum deposit in the standard FINANCIKA account is $250 and there is a 1: 200 leverage.

There is no demo account offered.

MARKET INSTRUMENTS

The most popular market instruments available from most brokers for trading include:

Forex

Forex trading describes the currency exchange market which refers to the global, decentralised marketplace where individuals, companies and financial institutions exchange currencies for one another at floating rates.

Commodities

Commodity markets offer many investment opportunities for traders. Soft commodities have been traded for centuries and plays a major role in portfolio diversification and risk management. Investing in contract-based tradable goods is a reliable way to mitigate risk during times of economic uncertainty.

Indices

Equity, or stock indices, are actual stock market indexes which measure the value of a specific section of a stock market. They can represent a specific stock market or a specific set of the largest companies of a nation.

Precious metals

The trading of gold and other precious metals, along with crude oil, copper or petroleum, are hard commodities that play a major role in the commodities market and are contract-based tradable goods.

Energy

The typical feature of energy prices is high volatility due to the influence of political and environmental factors, supply and demand, extreme weather conditions and global economic growth.

FINANCIKA TRADE offers the following of the above: CFDs, Metals, Stocks, Oil, Gold and Indices.

FEES

Cost depends on different factors, like spread and margins, and FINANCIKA TRADE clients may also experience different fee structures according to their country or place of residence.

The spread of a currency pair is the difference between the bid and the ask rate. A pip represents the smallest increment that an exchange rate can move.

Margin is the amount of money required in your account in order to open a position. Margin is calculated based on the current price of the base currency against USD, the size (volume) of the position and the leverage applied to your trading account.

FINANCIKA TRADE offers varying spreads on Forex pairs depending on the actual pair. Spreads start from 3.0 pips on EUR/USD, which is substantially higher than the industry average.

DEPOSIT AND WITHDRAWAL

Accounts usually requires a certain minimum initial deposit, which can be paid in several ways. Withdrawals can usually be done with the same ways, but sometimes differ.

In the case of FINANCIKA TRADE the minimum deposit in the standard account is $250. Deposits into a trading account can be made via credit card, check, bank transfers and Skrill. Withdrawals must be made by writing an email to customer service.

TRADING PLATFORMS

The forex trading platform provided by FINANCIKA TRADE to its clients is in essence the software to carry out their trades. Some brokers provide only one, others quite a few platforms.

A multi-asset trading platform is one that allows clients to trade forex as well as other asset classes. The decision about which platform to choose will usually depend on what a client would like to trade.

FINANCIKA TRADE provides

FINANCIKA offers traders three trading platforms, the PROfit platform, the WebPROfit platform or the popular MetaTrader4 trading platform.

Each one of the platforms has been designed according to needs and requirements of experienced and beginner traders.

The PROfit platform provides traders with various ways to manage their trades. Benefits include one-click trading, no slippage or re-quotes, 24/7 direct support, instant trade execution and an advanced Charting System.

WebPROfit offers various trading tools, news feeds and direct support and is customisable for beginners and experienced traders. No download is required.

HOW TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT

Similarly to a bank, to register a forex trading account with FINANCIKA TRADE for the first time, you will be required to go through a basic “know your customer” process, which will allow FINANCIKA TRADE to ascertain that your submitted details and ensure the safety of your funds and account details.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Potential traders need to make sure the broker company they chose will offer sufficient support whenever they need it.

In the case of FINANCIKA TRADE customers can reach the support team by filling in an online form and selecting email, phone or chat. Calls can be made 24/7.

The FINANCIKA website is available in English, Russian and Arabic.

EDUCATION       

Before starting to trade, potential clients of FINANCIKA TRADE should avail themselves of all possible information and trading skills needed to be successful in the world of forex and commodity trading.

FINANCIKA TRADE offers a full selection of instructional and informative material. An Academy offers a host of textual and video tutorials for both beginners starting out in trading as well as traders with years of trading experience.

The learning Academy has separate sections on different topics, all equally informative and offering various ways to interpret different trading trends, price fluctuations and moving averages.

RESEARCH         

To be able to trade with confidence, traders should do as much as possible research about this kind of speculative trading before commencing, but also preceding every daring deal to ensure that they don’t lose money unnecessarily and trade as profitable as possible.

With FINANCIKA TRADE they have access to a daily market review and a free currency chart that analyses the market and provides traders with an insight to the market’s direction.

There is a glossary with hundreds of financial terms and concepts in alphabetical order and an economic calendar with a full listing of upcoming events and happenings in worldwide financial markets.

AWARDS

Being an awarded company instils extra confidence by traders. Although FINANCIKA TRADE is acclaimed by customers, there is no indication of awards won on its homepage.

CONCLUSION  

FINANCIKA sports a good FAQ section with answers on many questions, as well as a useful Academy. Unfortunately, there is no demo account available, nor any bonuses or promotions.

FINANCIKA offers different management and trading tools and a choice of trading platforms.

FINANCIKA is an off-shore forex broker though, registered with the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission only.

DISCLAIMER

FINANCIKA TRADE warns potential customers that Forex and CFDs trading always carries a high risk and may not be suitable for all investors.

Before deciding to trade with FINANCIKA TRADE, potential traders are advised to carefully consider their investment objectives, financial situation, needs and level of experience before investing money they cannot afford to lose.

FINANCIKA TRADE warns that margin trading involves the potential for profit as well as the risk of loss and that movements in the price of foreign exchange and commodities are very unpredictable, hence FINANCIKA TRADE cannot guarantee a maximum loss that a trader may suffer, according to research in South Africa.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many instruments can I trade with Financika Trade?

You can trade several different instruments with Financika Trade, which include the following:

• CFDs,
• Metals,
• Stocks,
• Oil,
• Gold,
• Indices

Which platforms are supported by Financika Trade?

FINANCIKA TRADE provides the following popular trading platforms:

• PROfit
• WebPROfit
• MetaTrader4

Does Financika Trade offer leverage?

Yes, Financika Trade offers a maximum leverage of 1: 200.

What spreads can I expect with Financika Trade?

Financika Trade offers spreads from 3.0 pips.