Dukascopy is a Swiss-regulated ECN Forex broker that offers both personal retail Forex trading and managed PAMM accounts. The company prides itself on the security of its funds, no price manipulations and speedy executions. During the course of our Dukascopy review, we tested these claims, and found that they were relatively accurate. However, Dukascopy’s spreads are definitely not the lowest in the industry, a factor that may be important when choosing a Forex broker. The full Dukascopy review below will tell you everything you need to know about this brokerage before you open a trading account.

General Information
Maximum leverage: 1:100
Minimum deposit: $1,000
Minimum deal size: 10,000
Languages available: English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese

Trading Platform
Dukascopy offers several trading platforms, including the popular MetaTrader 4 platform, which is also offered by many other leading Forex brokers including Ava FX and FXCM. The company also offers a downloadable JAVA based platform for manual trading, and the ‘JFOREX’ platform for autotrading. A web-based platform is available for those who prefer not to download the program, and a platform is available for iPhone users as well, though it seems that other mobile and “smartphone” users cannot trade when they are away from their desktops. Unlike Forex Club, which offers distinct platforms for both novice and experienced traders, all traders that use Dukascopy will be required to use the same platforms regardless of their skill set or preferences. Therefore, you may want to try the company’s 14 day demo account before committing to this broker.

Dukascopy’s trading platforms are safe, thanks in part to the strictness of the Swiss Foreign Exchange Marketplace. Trading can be done securely online through one click trade to an unlimited number of accounts. You can also trade over the telephone.

Features
The most unique feature that we discovered during our Dukascopy review is the contest that the company offers each month, in which the trader with the best achievements will win a Cartier watch – but this feature is hardly the most useful. There’s no question that this incentive is inviting and exciting, but we believe that traders will want to succeed for their own sake, even without the chance to win a watch!

Perhaps more useful is the host of market material that Dukascopy provides including useful Forex signals and a plethora of technical analyses for those who prefer to make their own decisions. Among our favorites are the Currency Coverter, Forex Calculators and market updates directly to your mobile device. Ironically, while Dukascopy offers market updates to cellular phones, these updates do not include access to the trading platform, and thus, the usefulness of this feature is significantly diminished.

Customer Service
Dukascopy offers customer service 6 days each week via email and phone. Noticeably absent is live chat support, though we do give kudos to Dukascopy for enabling users to contact the company via Skype instead of incurring the expense of an international call.

Email from Dukascopy (Click to enlarge image)

Ease of Use
Direct access to the Swiss Foreign Exchange Marketplace means a right of entry to perhaps the biggest pool of interbank Forex liquidity obtainable anywhere for banks, institutions, hedge funds or professional traders. Retail clients are not serviced through Dukascopy, which is one flaw. Nonetheless, Dukascopy is perhaps the most efficient FOREX broker around, thanks to the combined liquidity of centralized marketplaces and a number of banking-partners, making it the biggest marketplace in the world. There are sometimes daily network volumes that exceed $80 billion USD. Dukascopy uses real-time interbank rates with spreads like 0.5 – 1 pip on Majors, some of the best spreads available in the market. The spread will sometimes get as high as 4 pips on non-major pairs like GBP/USD.

It is important to note, however, that a commission is taken for access to the marketplace. The standard commission is $20 USD per one million USD traded. Managed accounts will be charged an additional $20 USD per one millions USD traded. The commission is partially reimbursed depending on the monthly volume of the trader. All trades are executed within the network of FX participants and the trading is anonymous.

Setting up a demo account is extremely easy. It’s just a matter of setting yourself up with a login and password. When you get into live trading there is second level security available through the use of visual encryption secure code. From there, you can choose to run either Java or Web-based software platforms.

The program gives users the ability to act and react quickly depending on the market situation. The setup of the windows will allow you to easily monitor the market, examine current exposures, manage positions and view the progress of their equity, leverage and performance. The windows can be resized and moved around based on your needs. The bid and ask prices, volumes and market depth are all updated real-time.

Final Thoughts
Signing up for a Swiss broker is slightly more complicated than just signing up online. You are required to download the paperwork, complete the necessary information, and mail the documents to Switzerland. It is suggested that you email scanned copies or fax first to ensure that everything is sound before mailing your hardcopy.

If you are opening up a private account, you will need to include a certified copy of your passport or any utility bill showing your residential address. You will be contacted if anything additional is needed. A standard bank order is needed for deposit to an account or withdrawal from an account. These are all standard procedures for any FOREX brokerage based in Switzerland.