Editor’s Verdict
Overview
Review
Headquarters | United Arab Emirates |
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Year Established | 2007 |
US Persons Accepted? |
IFGM is an Australian-based Forex broker. They are part of Intelligent Financial Markets Pty Ltd group. From their beginning in 2012, IFGM has been regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and licensed by Australian Financial Services. They strictly abide by Australian Client Money Rules and hold client funds separately at the National Australia Bank. Knowing that they are carefully regulated and monitored definitely can give customers more confidence when choosing a Forex broker.
Regulation and Security
IFGM is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and holds an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL number 426359).
Deposits made to IFGM are kept in segregated client bank accounts. IFGM’s partnering bank is one of the largest banks in Australia - National Australia Bank.
In layman’s terms, a segregated trading account keeps a trader’s funds separate from the broker’s funds. This protects the trader’s capital in case the broker goes bankrupt, loses large amounts of money due to market crashes, etc.
Fees
IFGM’s trading costs can be divided into 3 components:
- Spread (the difference between the ask and the bid price).
- Commission (certain instruments traded with certain accounts incur commission charges).
- Swaps/rollover fees (the cost of overnight funding). Certain instruments have positive rollover, in which case a trader can earn interest because of the positive interest rate differential).
More specific information about transaction fees can be found in the ‘Account Types’ section.
With IFGM, there are no fees for making deposits and withdrawals on IFGM’s side. However, traders may be charged transaction fees by their bank, e-wallet, or other service providers.
What Can I Trade?
Some of the instruments available with a standard trading account.
Traders with Standard and Islamic accounts have access to 45 instruments (28 forex pairs, 3 commodity CFDs, 9 stock index CFDs, and 5 cryptocurrency CFDs).
Traders with Pro accounts can trade 39 instruments (28 currency pairs, 2 commodity CFDs, and 9 stock index CFDs).
Account Types
FGM offers 3 different account types: standard, pro, and Islamic. These accounts offer different trading conditions, fees, and instruments. The minimum deposit for a pro account is also more than with the other two account types. Here is more detail:
IFGM Standard Trading Account:
- Account base currency options: AUD, USD, EUR, GBP
- Leverage: 1:100, 1:200, or 1:500
- Spread type: variable spread
- Commission: none
- Minimum trade size: 0.01 (1 micro lot)
- Trading platforms: MetaTrader 4, Mobile MetaTrader, IFGM WebTrader
- Minimum deposit: $200
- Tradable instruments: forex pairs (28), commodities (3), stock indices (9), and cryptocurrencies (5)
- Swap charges: yes
IFGM Pro Trading Account:
- Account base currency options: AUD, USD, EUR, GBP
- Leverage: 1:100, and 1:200
- Spread type: variable spread (institutional grade tight spreads)
- Commission: yes (commission per side is 0.003% on all FX pairs and commodities)
- Minimum trade size: 0.01 (1 micro lot)
- Trading platforms: MetaTrader 4, Mobile MetaTrader, IFGM WebTrader
- Minimum deposit: $1000
- Tradable instruments: forex pairs (28), commodities (2), and stock indices (9)
- Swap charges: yes
IFGM Islamic Trading Account:
- Account base currency options: AUD, USD, EUR, GBP
- Leverage: 1:100, 1:200, or 1:500
- Spread type: variable spread
- Commission: none, but an administration fee is applied to every trade.
- Minimum trade size: 0.01 (1 micro lot)
- Trading platforms: MetaTrader 4, Mobile MetaTrader, IFGM WebTrader
- Minimum deposit: $200
- Tradable instruments: forex pairs (28), commodities (3), stock indices (9), and cryptocurrencies (5)
- Swap charges: none
Trading Platforms
With IFGM you can trade with MetaTrader 4, Mobile MetaTrader 4, and IFGM’s WebTrader. Whether you’re at home, at work, or on the move, you can access the markets with your PC, Android, or iOS device.
Unique Features
IFGM’s Prestige Client Club is available to VIP members only. VIP membership requires a minimum account balance of 100,000 AUD and a minimum trading volume of 50 lots per month.
Prestige clients have access to ultra-low trading commissions and also have the flexibility to negotiate a customised pricing structure. Other perks include a dedicated account manager, personal customer service, private educational courses, and more advanced educational materials.
Research and Education
IFGM’s Knowledge Center is a good way for new traders to learn the basics of forex and CFD trading. Some of the topics covered in this section are:
- Advantages of Trading Forex / CFDs
- Forex Market Hours
- Forex Market Overview
- Forex Market Participants
- Forex Order Types
- Forex Terms
- History of the Forex Market
- How to Read a Forex Quote
Another source of valuable information is the IFGM eBook. This eBook is aimed at providing traders with clear and concise insight into the forex market. It also covers how to generate income from the forex market and how professional traders mitigate their risk while reaping their reward.
IFGM’s FAQ section and trading glossary can also help beginners understand more about the technical aspects of online trading.
Customer Support
Website Languages |
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IFGM’s support team can be reached via email and telephone, 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Live clients also have access to an individual account manager. Support is provided in multiple languages.
IFGM does not have an online live chat feature at the moment.
Opening an Account
An online account application generally takes 5 minutes to complete. Potential clients who can be verified electronically and who submit their required ID documents online can have their accounts set up in one business day.
As mentioned already, all live account holders have 4 account base currencies to choose from - AUD, USD, EUR, and GBP.
An IFGM demo trading account remains active for 30 days but an extension of this period can be arranged by contacting the support team.
Please note that IFGM does not accept applications from residents of China, UK, Europe, USA, Japan, and certain other countries.
Deposits and Withdrawals
IFGM clients can fund their trading accounts with any of the methods in the screenshot above. They can also deposit money via bank transfer but the funds will have to clear before it reflects in their trading accounts. This can take 1-3 business days, depending on the bank.
Deposits made with Neteller or Skrill will typically be available after 10 minutes.
IFGM does not charge any fees on their side for deposits and withdrawals. Clients are liable for any transaction fees charged by their banks or e-wallets, however.
A minimum deposit of 200 currency units and a minimum withdrawal of 50 currency units apply to bank wires and local bank transfers. All other funding methods have a minimum deposit and withdrawal amount of 5 USD or the equivalent value in any other currency.
Trading Platform
Summary
IFGM is a reliable and regulated broker with competitive trading costs and a low minimum deposit of only $200 for standard and Islamic accounts. The minimum deposit for a pro trading account is also reasonably low at $1,000.
We like IFGM’s range of tradable assets, which includes a good range of stock indices and even a few cryptocurrencies. What we don’t like, is that a pro trading account does not support crude oil and cryptocurrency trading like the standard and Islamic accounts do.
The range of account base currencies offered by IFGM is pleasing. The ease with which accounts can be created and funded makes this broker convenient to work with. Withdrawals can also be arranged with minimal effort via IFGM’s Secure Client Portal.
IFGM is a safe broker that offers segregated client accounts, which is an essential feature. IFGM’s customer service is on-par and its clients can expect a fine trading experience.
