Editor’s Verdict
Overview
Review
Headquarters | South Africa |
|---|---|
Regulators | FSB |
Year Established | 2016 |
US Persons Accepted? |
Forex trading is becoming increasingly popular in South Africa, so it’s no surprise that Forex brokerages are popping up in the country left and right. The good news is that there are very strict regulations in South Africa so it is possible to find a broker that will keep your money segregated and protected. The FSB, Financial Services Board monitors the actions of the brokerages in South Africa and offers regulation for JP Markets. According to its website, JP Markets has offices in Kenya, Pakistan and Bangladesh, though we haven’t visited them to ascertain the reliability of these claims.
As a Forex brokerage, JP Markets has somewhat limited options. They work only with the MetaTrader 4 platform, which may be enough for some traders but will certainly be limiting for traders looking for a more diverse experience. There is no autotrading system immediately available by JP Markets, though savvy traders can ostensibly add an EA to their MT4 account.
During our JP Markets review we did not see any information about the spreads, commissions or minimum deposits which was a bit troubling to us, as we think that brokers should be totally transparent when expecting people to deposit their hard-earned funds. It seems very risky to open an account with so little information. They claim to have tight spreads but offer no details about what their actual trading conditions are. They do offer a demo account with a default total of $/R 10,000.
JP Markets seems to offer many interesting promotions, which is uncommon since most regulated brokers these days are prohibited from offering such incentives. At the time of this JP Markets review, the brokerage was offering a social media competition through which winners could win a yacht cruise, as well as a Christmas promotion. It is unclear how often new promotions are offered.
During the course of this JP Markets review we examined the website thoroughly and read reviews of the broker by independent sources, most of whom had fairly negative things to say about the brokerage. As we haven’t directly deposited funds with JP Markets we cannot confirm whether these negative reviews were warranted, but it is certainly cause for concern. We were not able to find even one positive experience in the online forums that discuss brokerage experiences.
Even though JP Markets is regulated by the FSB, there were ample red flags to indicate that it’s worth investigating other options if you’re looking for a Forex broker in South Africa. There are many global brokerages that are regulated in South Africa or that accept South African traders even if their regulation is based in another country. These brokerages are likely to provide better service and to have larger, more experienced teams that can respond to your needs. Do your research carefully before depositing any money, and make sure to test the brokerage on a demo account to make sure that the service meets your needs and expectations.