MiFID or the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive is a European Union law in regards to the financial services sector which provides for a synchronization of the regulation of investment services all over the 30 European Economic Area member countries.
MiFID has been in effect from November 1st 2007 and replaced the Investment Services Directive (ISD). The MiFID was modified by introducing new and more extensive requirements that financial services firms which includes forex brokers have to adapt to, specifically in the way they conduct their businesses as well as in their internal organization.
The main goal of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) is to increase transparency across all EU financial markets and to standardize regulatory disclosures for firms. Stocks are the primary focus of MiFID but the product scope has been expanded under MiFID II.
Pepperstone
Pepperstone was founded in 2010 in Melbourne, and processes, on average, $12.55 billion of trades each day (October 2019) and is best known for its extensive selection of third-party trading platforms.
Pepperstone provides forex and CFD traders competitive pricing, outstanding customer service, and one of the largest selections of third-party platforms available. Pepperstone also offers a small set of tradeable products but.
Is Pepperstone Safe?
Pepperstone is measured as average-risk and is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. Pepperstone is authorised by:
- Two tier-1 regulators
- Zero tier-2 regulators
- Zero tier-3 regulators
Pepperstone is authorised by the following tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Commissions & Fees
Pepperstone is an agency-execution broker and offers a decent range of options on pricing plans, with its commission-based Razor Account being the top choice.
Account types
Pepperstone offers two pricing models which are dependent on the account type the user wishes to open, ranging from:
The Standard Account: Which incorporates commissions into the prevailing spreads. Fees may also slightly vary, depending on the platform the user choose to trade. The standard account is commission-free but has higher spreads and is not as competitive as the Razor Account.
Razor Account: The Razor Account can be used with either the MetaTrader (MT4) or cTrader platforms and follows a commission-based pricing structure in addition to prevailing spreads.
Active traders: Pepperstone’s active trader program offers discounts on the appropriate commission rates which helps to boost its ranking in the active trader category.
- A minimum amount of 200 lots is required to qualify for the lowest tier
- A rebate of $1.00 per standard lot
- Applies only to Razor accounts.
Order-Routing: Pepperstone uses its EDGE infrastructure to help bridge the MetaTrader platform with liquidity providers and incorporates its Pepperstone Price Improvement (PPI) technology to help improve execution rates.
Platforms & Tools
Pepperstone offers an excellent third-party platform.
- Platforms: Pepperstone offers the full MetaTrader and cTrader suites which includes a MT4 (desktop and web), MT4 Multi-terminal, MT5, cTrader (desktop and web), and cAlgo. Traders can use either account type, Razor, or Standard, with any platform.
Copy trading
- The MirrorTrader and RoboX platform from Tradency
- The ZuluTrade platform
- MyFxbook for MT4
cTrader vs MT4: Both cTrader and MT4 support algorithmic trading, cTrader has an advantage with its web-based platform.
Broad range of third-party social copy-trading platforms and research tools:
- Third-party tools:Pepperstone offers traders access to AutoChartist, which is a well-known, popular software provider of automated pattern recognition and trading signals.
- Smart Trader Tools are also offered by Pepperstone which included an MT4 add-on with tools such as sentiment indicators.
- Market analysis: Pepperstone offers content from third-party analysts. Trading Economics, a provider of market data, powers the firm’s economic calendar.
- In-house commentary: Pepperstone’s in-house research offers content such as “Daily Fix” and a “Chart of the Day” series.
Mobile Trading
At Pepperstone, Mobile trading is conduct with either the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5) mobile app, or the cTrader app, all available directly from the developer.
Customer Service
- Average Connection Time:<1 minute
- Average Net Promoter Score:9 / 10
- Average Professionalism Score:5 / 10
- Overall Score:42 / 10
- Ranking:4th of 22 brokers
XM Group
The XM Group provides the entire suite of MetaTrader platforms plus over 1300 tradeable instruments.
- The XM Group is regulated in two tier-1 jurisdictions and one tier-2 jurisdiction, making it a safe broker (average-risk) for forex and CFDs trading.
- Pricing at XM Group varies by account type.
XM Group is considered as an average-risk, and is not publicly-traded and does not operate a bank.
Offering of Investments
The XM Group offers traders CFDs on 1200 stocks, 30 indices, eight commodities, four metals, five energies, and 57 forex pairs.
Commissions & Fees
The commissions and fees at XM Group is depended on the type of account used.
Spreads: In the XM Zero account, average spreads on the EUR/USD stand at 0.1 pips (according to XM Group website data, and not including commission), compared to the commission-free Standard and Micro account, which had average spreads of 1.7 pips for the same pairs.
Commissions: Even after including the USD $3.5 per side commission ($7 per Round Turn), and average spreads of 0.1 pips on the EUR/USD, the all-in cost to trade is 0.8 pips (0.1 spread + 0.7 RT commission), making the XM Zero account the firm’s most competitively priced offering.
Platforms & Tools
XM Group is a MetaTrader-only broker offering the standard experience which includes both MT4 and MT5.
XM Group’s research offering consists of:
- Content generated by an in-house team of analysts including:
- Daily market recaps and
- Technical and fundamental analysis articles and videos.
- An economic calendar powered by Investing.com
Trading signals: The XM Group offers its trading signals hub to live account holders but, trading signals that can be automated are currently limited to the Signals Market available within the MetaTrader platform.
Technical analysis: The XM Group offers Tradepedia, which provides educational Forex and CFD content.
Video news analysis: The XM Group creates daily forex news videos with market analysis explained in a TV interview-style format.
Customer Service
- Average Connection Time:<1 minute
- Average Net Promoter Score:66 / 10
- Average Professionalism Score:2 / 10
- Overall Score:7 / 10
- Ranking:24th out of 43 brokers
HYCM
HYCM is an online broker which was founded in 1977 and offers Forex and CFDs trading on the popular MT4 forex trading platform plus mobile apps for Android and iOS.
Traders starting off with HYCM will need to make a minimum deposit of at least $100 and have the choice to sign up for a demo account perfect for various levels of traders, experienced or novice.
a wide variety of instruments and currency pairs are available for trade:
- Over 100 instruments
- Over 40 currency pairs
Trading benefits
- Allows scalping
- Allows hedging
- Low min deposit
HYCM Trading Accounts on offer include Demo, Micro, Mini, Standard and Islamic and the minimum and maximum trade requirements will vary depending on the trader and the instrument.
Forex.com
Forex.com is an online broker which was founded in 1999 and offers Forex, Indices, Commodities, Equities and Cryptocurrencies trading with a minimum deposit of $500 needed to make a start.
Traders can trade in:
- Over 4500 instruments
- Over 80 currency pairs
Trading benefits
- Allows scalping
- Allows hedging
- Offers STP
- Guaranteed stop loss
- Offers Negative Balance Protection
Forex.com Trading Accounts on offer include:
- Demo account
- Mini account
- Standard account
- ECN account
- STP account
- Islamic account
With Forex.com, the minimum and maximum trade requirements vary depending on the trader and the instrument and all accounts support a wide range of languages including English, Chinese, Arabic to name but a few.
AvaTrade
AvaTrade is an excellent partner for all types of trader, be it beginner or pro – with over 200,000 active traders around the globe, on both the MetaTrader 4 and AvaGo platforms. AvaTrade offers great trading conditions across Forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, bonds, and equities and boasting FSCA and ASIC regulation.
Trading benefits
| Accounts | Min. Deposit | Max. Leverage | Min. Spread | Commission |
| Islamic | USD 100 | 400:1 | 1.3 pips | None |
| Professional | USD 100 | 400:1 | 1.3 pips | None |
| Retail | USD 100 | 400:1 | 1.3 pips | None |
AvaTrade does not charge their clients for making deposits and withdrawals and the only costs are the bank card, e-wallet, or bank transfer fees. Traders have access to professional customer support, 24 hours a day, five days a week.
City Index
City Index is an online broker which was founded in 1983 and offers Forex, CFDs and Spread Betting trading and traders can trade in over 12,500 instruments and over 100 currency pairs on the popular MT4 forex trading platform. City Index also offer mobile apps for Android and iOS.
City Index is a global broker and has a head office situated in the UK and new traders will need to make a minimum deposit of $25 to make a start.
Trading benefits
- Allows hedging
- Offers STP
- Low min deposit
- Guaranteed stop loss
- Offers Negative Balance Protection
Account types
- Demo account
- Micro account
- Mini account
- Standard account
- STP account
- Managed account
City Index support a wide range of languages including English, Spanish, German, Arabic, Polish, and Chinese and has a triple AAA grade support rating.
eToro
eToro is an online broker which was founded in 2006 and offers CFDs and Social Trading, with a head office based in Cyprus, UK. eToro offers traders two ways to trade: CFDs, Social Trading and eToro traders will need to make a minimum deposit of $200 and the platform can accommodate various levels of traders from beginner to expert.
eToro is supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) regulatory bodies and has been in operation for over 14 years.
Traders can trade in a wide variety of over 100 instruments and over 50 currency pairs on eToro’s user-friendly custom trading platform which is available as a browser-based web application. eToro also offers traders mobile apps for Android and iOS, making it easier to keep an eye on and execute trades.
eToro trading accounts on offer include: Demo, Micro, Mini, Standard, STP and Islamic. eToro supports a wide range of languages including English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian.
In Conclusion
If a trader trades with any EU regulated broker they will find that they are protected by MiFID directive too. It’s important for traders to know their rights as a trader. It is very clear from the above-mentioned traders who intend to use MiFID forex brokers should be up-to-date with the new rules that the MiFID II/MiFIR reviewed regulations are going to bring their way. These rules are to enhance trader protection and make the markets transparent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MiFID in simple terms?
A European regulation whose function it is to increase the transparency across the EU’s financial markets, and it standardizes regulatory disclosures that are required for the firms operating in the EU.
Is MiFID brokers safe?
Yes.
Who is the best MiFID Regulated Forex Brokers?
Here is a list of the 8 Best MiFID Regulated Forex Brokers
What is a MiFID regulated broker?
A broker that is regulated by The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2004/39/EC
When did MiFID come into effect?
1 November 2007
Top 4 Brokers
