SMFX Review

Overall, this SMFX review conducted in South Africa shows that SMFX is a trading name of Scope Markets Ltd based in offshore Belize and is a regulated entity there, while the other, Capital Markets Ltd is an authorised brokerage in Cyprus. SMFX strictly follows the segregated accounts principal and offers a wide range of products and multi-platform trading.

SMFX’s offerings may also vary according to your residency but maintains its dealer’s service since 1997, following the necessary requirements for traders.

Alongside competitive trading conditions, SMFX supports traders through good customer service and market updates together with an economic calendar, free education and other helpful tools.

Whether you are an experienced trader or new into the business, SMFX’s trading platforms offers simple, user friendly yet sophisticated trading and the company strives to consistently develop and advance its technology.

Every aspect of the trading process is automated as far as possible to keep manual intervention to a minimum and maximize efficiency.

SAFE OR SCAM?

One of the best means of determining the safety of a broker like SMFX, is to establish which regulating authorities are watchdogs over its actions.

SMFX is a brand operational through two locations including the offshore regions of Belize and Cyprus.

While Belize’s registration does not necessarily provide all the conditions necessary to guarantee a safe trading environment, CySEC of Cyprus, being a European authority, sets several strict standards.

CySEC regulated brokers assure that funds are segregated at all times and that clients are covered by compensation funds in case of company insolvency.

It is comforting to know that SMFX is constantly overseen, maintains safety measures verified by MiFID, and complies with EU ESMA regulations. This regulates how orders and money are managed.

SMFX REVIEW OF 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 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 with SMFX as a European broker automatically makes you subject to ESMA restrictions towards leverage.

You won’t be able to access very high leverage since this regulator lowered leverage ratios to a maximum of 1:30 for major currency pairs and even lower for other instruments.

Since SMFX also runs an entity in the offshore zone, one may be able to get higher leverage if you are eligible to open an account under this jurisdiction. This is always risky, since your risks will be magnified as well.

ACCOUNTS

A forex account at SMFX 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.

In the case of SMFX, which aims to cater to the needs of all types of traders and investors from beginners or institutional grade traders to investors, its technology was developed to customise trading accounts to clients’ needs.

Firstly, a client can open a demo account with $50,000 in virtual funds to practice within the market environment on MetaTrader4 or MetaTrader5.

With this account a client can experience real-time spreads, fast execution and leverage up to 500:1 and practice on both portable devices and desktop with 24/5 multilingual and dedicated client support.

Furthermore, SMFX has four standard types of live trading accounts: Mini, Standard, Top and Elite accounts, with the standard accounts offering access to a smaller portfolio of 45 forex pairs, metals and binary options.

SMFX also offers two types of special accounts: Eva and Revolucion Forex which offer access to a larger asset portfolio of 53 forex pairs and metals.

SMFX offers VPS services to clients with three types for monthly fees varying from €12-22, plus a one-off €5 installation fee.

MARKET INSTRUMENTS

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

Forex

Forex trading, currency trading, or FX 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

Along with currency exchange markets, commodity markets offer many investment opportunities for traders. Soft commodities have been traded for centuries and investors’ preference for these financial derivatives is credited to their major role in portfolio diversification and risk management.

Investing in contract-based tradable goods is a reliable way to mitigate risk during times of inflation or economic uncertainty.

Indices

Equity indices, 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 they can represent 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.

Apart from forex trading, long-term investing in gold and other precious metals is worldwide a popular way of portfolio risk management during times of inflation or economic or political uncertainty.

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.

Such conditions can decrease or increase demand for consumer services related to these energies.

With SMFX clients can trade 90+ instruments including Forex, Indices, Metals and Commodities as CFDs.

Online Trading with SMFX gives clients access to forex trading on currency markets 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. You can trade over 30 currency pairs with high leverage and competitive spreads.

SMFX offers competitive pricing in gold and silver along with superior execution, a benefit because metals- gold and silver – have always been an important part of any trader or investor’s portfolio.

You can also trade spot indices with SMFX, allowing a trader to trade the current value instead of the future value. This means you no longer need to worry about contracts expiring and deciding whether to roll your position to the next contract.

SMFX’s commodities trading is globalised with its prices in constant motion, making it an ideal instrument for day traders who look for fast movements and choose commodities CFDs as the easiest way to trade.

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FEES

Due to its presence in different countries, SMFX may offer various account types that may differ according to the regulation entity to which it complies, therefore clients may experience different fee structures too, according to their country or place of residence.

Cost depends on different factors, like spread and margins. 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.

SMFX combines its trading functionality with a wide suit of products and very competitive pricing, along with different options between its account types.

The conditions of the Standard, VIP and ECN accounts may vary cost-wise as long as the account is high grade.

SMFX spreads are defined by the account type you use, therefore the Standard account spreads start from 1.8 pips, VIP is lower on 1.3 pips and ECN spreads start from 0 pips while charges are combined in a commission of 3.5$ per side.

DEPOSIT AND WITHDRAWAL

To deposit or withdraw funds with SMFX you can use proven and safe methods so the transfer can be conveniently executed.

These methods include credit/debit cards and bank transfers, and according to your residency, alternative options may also be available according.

Once again, conditions and payment methods may vary according to the entity of SMFX you are opening your account with.

The minimum deposit amount is defined by the account type you will use, while the very minimum for the first grade account is a $100.

SMFX generally does not charge funding fees, but payment providers may charge fees according to jurisdiction or international rules.

For withdrawals, SMFX allows two requests per month free of charge, with further requests being charged the equivalent of 35$.

TRADING PLATFORMS

The forex trading platform is in essence the software provided by SMFX to its clients to carry out their trades.

A multi-asset trading platform is one that allows clients to trade forex but other asset classes, including CFDs on stocks, stock indices, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies as well.

The decision about which platform to choose will always depend on what a client would like to trade. SMFX offers its own SMFX Web Trader and the industry leader MetaTrader4.

MetaTrader4

MT4 gained its popularity with both beginners and professionals due to its user-friendly and powerful capabilities, numerous add-ons and great charting packages.

MT4 offers one of the best automatic trading systems, known as EAs, which allows excellent control over trading actions and strategies.

There are MT4 desktop or web versions available, as well as mobile applications for IOS and Android.

General benefits of MetaTrader4 include:

• It is one of the most popular trading platforms in the world
• Offers real-time symbol quotes
• 50+ technical indicators
• Algorithmic trading EA & MQL4
• Advanced charts
• Support for three execution models and eight order types
• News and alerts on market events

AutoTrade

Apart from MT4 SMFX offers its own SMFX Web Trader, which can be used with the MT4 credentials as well as the MyFxBook AutoTrade app for automated trading.

As an automated social trade copying service, Myfxbook’s AutoTrade enables traders to track, compare, analyse and share their trading strategies.

HOW TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT

The SMFX review is simple and easy. Similarly to a bank, if you want to register a forex trading account with SMFX for the first time, you will be required to go through a basic “know your customer” process.

This will allow SMFX to make sure that your submitted personal details are correct and the safety of your funds and your account details are ensured.

After the initial registration you will normally be emailed your login details that will correspond to a login on a trading platform matching your type of account.

The steps to open an account include:

• Supplying personal information and contact details
• Choosing your country or region of residence
• Creating a password
• Choosing your basic currency：
• Supply info on your trading experience
• Submitting the required documents
• Finishing the application.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Potential traders need to make sure the broker company they choose will offer support whenever they may need it, in order to help customers to easily find the exact answers to their questions and offer them the best user experience.

In the case of SMFX traders can contact them from Monday to Friday from 05:00 – 21:00 GMT via phone, email, live chat on the website, or fill out a provided form so that an assistant can phone you back.

EDUCATION

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

If SMFX’s website does not provide enough means, a trader should explore other informative websites and means to obtain that knowledge.

SMFX offers new traders daily video updates, tutorial videos, one on one mentoring and access to other educational content.

RESEARCH

To be able to trade with confidence and success, potential traders should do as much possible research about this kind of speculative trading before commencing, but also preceding every daring deal.

This will ensure that they don’t lose money unnecessarily but make their trade as profitable as possible.

Clients can get a look at all important upcoming economic events with SMFX’s online FX Calendar, which is automatically updated during live announcements, once any event data is released.

Previous economic events and their effects on the market can also be viewed on the FX Calendar.

AWARDS

Since being an awarded company instils extra confidence in traders, SMFX proudly states that the brand was nominated for “Best Retail FX Broker” and “Most Transparent Broker” at an iFXEXPO in Macao.

CONCLUSION

SMFX can be summarily described as a worthwhile company for potential traders, knowing that it is flexible in its trading conditions and offers different options between account types and execution models which makes the trading experience comfortable.

SMFX offers quite a low spread and despite being an offshore broker, complies with European standards of running forex business due to its CySEC license. SMFX can be a balanced option for beginners and seasoned traders.

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DISCLAIMER

SMFX strives to provide clients with the best online trading experience and aims to comply with all applicable national and international regulatory requirements.

They warn clients though to carefully read the legal documentation which constitutes the agreement between them and the client.

SMFX warns that the risk of loss in investing on leverage traded markets can be substantial and should not be attempted if a client’s circumstances and financial resources do not allow for it.

Clients should make sure to fully understand the nature and risks of currency investments, and their obligations to others should not be neglected should they suffer investment losses, according to research in South Africa.