Editor’s Verdict

Pros
  • Raw Spreads Starting 0.00001

  • Fast Deposits / Withdrawals

  • No Fees on Deposits Over $1000

  • Hedging, Scalping & EAs Allowed

Cons
  • Only One Promotion

Overview

Review

HeadquartersCyprus
RegulatorsCySEC, VFSC
Year Established2008
Execution Type(s)ECN/STP
Minimum Deposit$100
Trading Platform(s)Other, MetaTrader 4, Proprietary platform, Web-based
Islamic Account
Signals
US Persons Accepted?
Managed Accounts

FxGrow is the brand name of Growell Capital LTD and a Forex broker based in Cyprus, founded in 2008 and regulated by the CySEC since 2012. FxGrow LTD is a registered and regulated Forex broker in Vanuatu. FxGrow is currently offering ECN accounts on the MT4 trading platform and uses the LD4/TY4 Equinix data center. It is refreshing to have an ECN broker mention how they offer their traders access to interbank FX market.

The asset selection is great with over 160 assets to choose from and spreads start as low as 0.00001 pips which gives traders access to essentially raw spreads, although the commission charges remains on the high end with $12 per lot. FxGrow offers negative balance protection and the execution time is listed as less than 10 milliseconds. This broker states that transparency and straightforwardness is important to them and the first impression of FxGrow is quite positive.

FxGrow Homepage

Regulation and Security

Growell Capital LTD, the owner of FxGrow, is authorised ad regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The company registration number is 314852 and the license number is 214/13. The license was issued on September 17th 2013. As a Cyprus regulated firm, FxGrow also participates in the Investor Compensation Fund (CIF) and client funds are segregated from company funds.

Since Cyprus is a member of the EU, the regulatory framework of MiFIID (the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2004/39/EC) in effect since November of 2007) also applies. This was updated to MiFID II/MiFIR in January of 2018. The release of the 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive in June of 2015 is also applicable. As member of the EU, CySEC regulated companies are also subject to cross-border regulation by other member countries. This adds an additional layer to EU based traders.

FxGrow LTD is a subsidiary licensed and regulated by the Vanuatu financial services commission (VFSC). The registration number is 40308 and the brokerage is licensed by the dealers in securities act (CAP 70). The company is included in the “Active Financial Dealers Licensee List”.

FxGrow is well regulated and also in compliance with the Pillar III documents. They are part of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in order to “promote market discipline through regulatory disclosure requirements”. Negative balance protection is also part of it trading account which further protects traders in leveraged trading accounts. Overall, traders should have no reasons to worry about their deposits or the financial health of this brokerage.

FxGrow CySEC regulation

FxGrow Cross-Border Regulation

Fees

FxGrow is primarily an ECN broker and earns the majority of its revenues from commissions charged on trades. Commissions are rather high with $12 per lot in its “ECN-Plus” account, which drop to $8 in its “ECN-VIP” account. The rest comes from spreads, the industry term for the difference between bid and ask prices. While the ECN accounts offer spreads as low as 0.00001 pips, the entry account which is unfortunately labeled “ECN” starts from spreads as low as 1.20 pips. No commissions on Forex trades are charged in this entry account, which follows more of an STP model. FxGrow is not a market maker so client losses are not booked as profits by this broker. CFD commissions are listed at $0.12, but it is unclear of this is per order or per CFD.

Swap rates apply, unless traders have requested a swap-free account through customer service. The easiest way for traders to find out swap rates is directly from the trading platform by following these steps:

1. Right-click on the desires symbol in the “Market Watch” window and select “Symbols”.

2. Select the desired currency and then click on “Properties” located on the right side.

3. Scroll down until you see “Swap Long” and “Swap Short”

FxGrow doesn’t charge for deposits, which is standard industry practice, but various fees apply when it comes to withdrawals using eWallets, prepaid cards and wire transfers. The fees are charged by payment providers and not by the broker. The “Client Terms and Conditions” list other fees which may apply which shall be listed on the website or communicated directly to each client where applicable.

What Can I Trade?

The asset selection at FxGrow is good when it comes to currency pairs and allows traders to diversify. CFD’s are offered, but the selection there is rather limited. It would be nice to see it expanded, especially given the solid trading conditions which are presented by this broker. Forex traders will have 61 currency pairs available for trading, those who prefer to diversify through CFDs will be limited to a handful of indices and commodities. Given the total asset offering, this Forex broker is better suited for new to advanced retail traders, while those who operate portfolios on a higher level may view the offering as inadequate.

Account Types

FxGrow offers three different account types. The entry account “ECN” is available from a minimum deposit of $100 and spreads start from 1.20000 pips without commissions. It isn’t a true ECN account, but appears to follow the STP model which is good. CFD commissions are listed as $0.12. This is a solid entry level account, great for new traders to learn how to trade. The “ECN-Plus” Account is the first real ECN account offered by this broker and has the same features as the entry account with the main difference being spreads which starts as low as 0.00001 pips with a $12 commission per lot. While the spreads offered are great, the commission is on the high end as compared to other ECN brokers.

Commissions drop to $8 per lot in the “ECN-VIP” account which has all the same trading features. A nice added feature is the free MT4 VPS Hosting which is charged at $10 per month in the other two accounts. The minimum deposit is $10,000 which is relatively low for a prime trading account, but even the $8 commissions for Forex traders is too high; this is especially true for a VIP account. This account only comes in Euro and US Dollar, the other also have Polish Zloty accounts available. Swap free accounts are available on request.

FxGrow Account Types and Conditions

Trading Platforms

FxGrow offers the full suite of the MT4 trading platform. Since this broker is providing ECN accounts, it would have been nice to see the cTrader platform offered which is a superior trading platform. MT4 is the most popular trading platform in the retail space as it is the one which is offered by most brokers. Plenty of third-parties have invested millions into developing EA’s and other tools for MT4 and with the addition of those, MT4 can indeed turn into a very powerful trading platform.

There is nothing wrong with only offering the MT4 trading platform, but it would be nice if some of the required upgrades would be offered for free. Traders can browse the library and find quite a selection of free additions, but the great ones usually come for a price. It is not a requirement to purchase anything extra, traders can use the MT4 trading platform as is, but it won’t unlock its full potential.

FxGrow MT4 configurations

Unique Features

There are three unique features worth mentioning. FxGrow has a partnership with ZuluTrade which is a social trading platform. Forex traders can select which traders to follow, set certain limits and all trades are copied into the traders own MT4 trading platform. A simple five-step process will get traders started. This is a nice feature for new traders who don’t have the time, knowledge or desire to create their own trading strategies. Following other traders has its obvious drawbacks, but there is a market for social trading and ZuluTrade has been around for quite a bit. It ranks all traders based on ROI and risk behaviour which should give new traders a better idea of what they are going to follow.

FxGrow also offers portfolio management which is not something new, but another great feature to offer traders who can afford it. FxGrow claims that it only works with licensed portfolio managers, but the minimum investment is $50,000 and out of reach for most traders. The high minimum investment is understandable as most managers charge a performance fee and small accounts are not worth the effort as the workload is the same. FxGrow may attempt to push deeper into this sector and depending on which managers it can attract, $50,000 could be a small deposit. This should not be confused with PAMM accounts.

Another feature is the partnership with Trading Central, a third-party analytics company which has been offering independent research and analysis to traders. Trading Central covers 75,000 assets in 32 languages which makes it a truly global provider. The company is a registered investment advisor and has constantly grown in market share. This is great for those who cannot afford the capital required for portfolio management and who seek more than what ZuluTrade has to offer.

FxGrow-ZuluTrade partnership

Research and Education

FxGrow does publish its own research, but lacks an educational section. While the partnership with Trading Central includes educational material, this broker has not made an effort to provide a comprehensive educational section and leaves this task up to the individual trader.

The research section can be found under “Analysis & Calendar” and is divided into the following five categories: Economic Calendar, Trading Central, Trading Hours, Calculator and Daily Analysis. Since we have already established that FxGrow has outsourced mots of the analytics to Trading Central, we will take a closer look at the other four categories which make-up the FxGrow research section.

Economic Calendar

Unfortunately, the economic calendar was empty at the time of this FxGrow review and is therefore deemed useless and the first major fumble by this broker. It is a small issue and great economic calendars can be found online free of charge. FxGrow should correct this problem as there is no excuse for it.

Broken Economic Calendar

Trading Hours

This is another useless section as it barely adds any important information. It touches on trading hours and how they overlap in a very brief post in what can be concluded as the sole educational post by this broker.

Calculator

FxGrow offers traders four different calculators which only function for currency pairs while other assets are not available. This is another unfortunate oversight of broker who apparently doesn’t take auxiliary trading tools very seriously and leaves Forex traders to find their own essentials.

FxGrow Limited Calculator

Daily Analysis

On top of partnering with Trading Central and ZuluTrade, FxGrow publishes its own market research. That being said, it was quite clear during our FxGrow review that this is not a section which is the broker is heavily invested in. The presentation is not good and while the newest analysis is listed first, with a handful of assets covered each trading day, the overall impression is rather sloppy. The research itself consists of a chart and a one-to-two-sentence explanation which is not really valuable to either new or experienced traders. It would have been better to not publish anything at all and leave it up to its partners, as this simply tarnishes the reputation of FxGrow; a major misstep on the side of this broker.

The home page of the Daily Analysis section is poorly organized and structured, clicking on “Read more…” will get traders to the “research” which has clearly not been conducted by a professional.

FxGrow Daily Analysis

Each “research” consists of a chart and either one or two sentences which includes several grammatical errors. This type of research from a broker is not acceptable at all.

Customer Support

Customer Support Methodsemail-support chat-support
Support Hours24/5
Website Languages
      • English
      • Arabic
      • Polish
  • Customer support is available 24/5 and traders can either contact support via e-mail, by calling or through Skype. While FxGrow lists several departments, a single phone number will route the call to the relevant desk. Live chat and a call back option are also available to traders. In general, support is something most traders will rarely use; this is especially true with good Forex brokers where everything functions as it should.

    FxGrow CySEC regulation

    Bonuses and Promotions

    At the time of this review, no bonuses or promotions were offered by FxGrow.

    Opening an Account

    Opening an account is done through an online application form which is standard for all online Forex brokers. Phone verification is required as an SMS code will be sent during the first step. As FxGrow is authorized and registered by CySEC, it needs to be in full compliance with AML/KYC requirements. The information requested is the standard personal information and traders should feel safe providing it to this broker.

    Deposits and Withdrawals

    FxGrow offers a nice selection of deposit and withdrawal options which include credit/debit cards, eWallets, prepaid cards and bank wires. This broker doesn’t charge fees for deposits or withdrawals, but third-party charges apply. Not charging for deposits is standard across all brokers, not charging for withdrawals in a nice feature. FxGrow states that all transactions are processed during their normal business hours which is fine and means that most traders will get their withdrawals the same day, unless requesting a bank wire.

    The minimum deposit is listed at just $1, but keep in mind that an initial deposit of $100 is required for the smallest trading account offered. The minimum withdrawal is listed as $10.

    FxGrow Minimum Deposit and Fees

    Trading Platform

    MT4
    MT5
    cTrader
    Proprietary Platform
    Automated Trading
    Guaranteed Stop Loss
    Scalping
    Hedging
    OCO Orders
    Interest on Margin

    Summary

    FxGrow is a well-regulatedForex broker that prides itself with fast execution and offers its traders ECN accounts with raw spreads in exchange for slightly elevated commissions. This broker has been operational since 2008 and regulated by CySEC since 2012. Since its inception it has grown its presence internationally and received numerous awards for best liquidity, best execution and lowest spread. The trading conditions as well as Forex asset selection are great and should allow pure Forex traders to operate and diversify their trading account on a professional level.

    Outside of Forex, the asset selection is rather limited and not suitable for cross-asset diversification. This may change in the future as FxGrow is adding new assets so definitely something to look out for. Existing partnerships with Trading Central and ZuluTrade offer clients an extra service, but the in-house provided research section leave a terrible impression. FxGrow should either improve this part or leave it altogether. The expansion into professional fund management is another interesting sector to monitor for this growing brokerage.

    There are some minor, non-operational issues such as the empty economic calendar, but overall the impression of FxGrow was positive. It is definitely a Forex broker worth considering for accounts over $1,000. The $12 per lot commission is the only major negative and while this does drop to $8 for deposits above $10,000, it remains elevated. What FxGrow does great when it comes to trading conditions, it lacks in education and in-house research which makes this a Forex broker best suited for slightly more advanced traders who seek great market access to the Forex market and are willing to pay a few dollars more for it.

    FAQs

    Where is FxGrow based?

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    FxGrow is headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus.

    How does FxGrow make money?

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    FxGrow earns the majority of its income from commissions charged on trades in their ECN account and from spreads in their starter account.

    How can I deposit into an FxGrow account?

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    FxGrow offers a range of payment options which include credit/debit cards, eWallets, prepaid cards and bank wires.

    What is the minimum lot size at FxGrow?

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    FxGrow has a minimum lot size requirement of 0.01 standard lots.

    When does a margin call take place at FxGrow?

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    FxGrow issues a margin call at 50% with an automatic stop out at 20% in all three accounts.

    Is FxGrow regulated?

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    Growell Capital LTD, the owner of FxGrow, is authorised ad regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). The company registration number is 314852 and the license number is 214/13. FxGrow LTD is a subsidiary licensed and regulated by the Vanuatu financial services commission (VFSC). The registration number is 40308 and the brokerage is licensed by the dealers in securities act (CAP 70).

    What is the maximum leverage offered by FxGrow?

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    FxGrow didn’t specify this anywhere on their website, but being a Cyprus regulated broker the limit is expected to be at 1:20.

    How do I open an account with FxGrow?

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    FxGrow has an online application form which is standard operating procedure.

    Does FxGrow offer the MetaTrader Trading Platform?

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    Yes, FxGrow offers the full suite of the MT4 trading platform.

    About the Author

    DailyForex.com Team
    The DailyForex.com team is comprised of analysts and researchers from around the world who watch the market throughout the day to provide you with unique perspectives and helpful analysis that can help improve your Forex trading.