Overall Equiti can be summarized as a trustworthy broker that has an overall rating of 7 out of 10. Equiti is regulated by 4 trading bodies including the FCA and JSC. The minimum deposit required to open an account is $500.
Equiti Overview
Equiti is an English forex broker company that is based in London.
Forex brokers are companies that provide traders with access to platforms that allow them to buy and sell foreign currencies.
Forex brokers are also known as retail forex brokers or currency trading brokers. Retail currency traders in turn use these brokers to gain access to the 24-hour currency market for speculation purposes.
Forex broker services are also provided for institutional clients and large companies such as investment banks.
Equiti is an online brokerage based in the UK with extended offices in the Middle East, North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific regions.
The company is part of Equiti Group Ltd., which is the parent company of prime brokerage providers along with brands specifically pertaining to FX and CFDs.
Equiti makes use of ECN execution technology and has a No Dealing Desk Execution (NDD) model.
It offers trading in a variety of financial instruments along with a trading experience that is easy, safe, and productive.
Awards and Recognition
Equiti has won a few awards including the:
Best Broker of the CIS region and Best Provider of Liquidity
Equiti Accounts
A forex account is a trading account held by a trader with a company like Equiti that is primarily issued with the purpose of trading currencies.
Usually, the number and type of accounts that a trader can open with a broker company differ according to the country in which the brokerage operates, the country of residence of the trader, and the regulation authorities under whose jurisdiction it operates.
Types of Accounts and Their Features
Equiti offers traders the choice between an Executive and Premiere account. Both accounts have a demo account available.
The Executive account is specifically designed for new and intermediate traders. It provides the following:
- Fast market execution and access to Expert Advisors
- Trade-in more than 60 currency pairs and precious metals along with commodities and Indices CFDs
- Floating leverages on Forex allowing traders to create their own strategies
- Trade-in micro or standard lot sizes on one account with added flexibility
- Use of NDD and ECN technology which integrates more than a dozen top liquidity providers, allowing for tighter spread and faster execution
The Premiere account offers much the same, but it is more flexible. It is more suited for professional traders who have individual requirements. It also includes:
- Trade-in CDs along with 60 currency pairs, precious metals, and Forex with spreads and leverage which is competitive
- Access to Non-Dealing Desk execution through the MetaTrader4 trading platform
- Advanced risk management functionality provided by MetaTrader4
- Access to Expert Advisors on the MetaTrader4 platform along with automated trading
- Access to deep liquidity along with pricing which is at the institutional level and provided by over 10 Tier-1 providers
- Order management options are sophisticated and there are advanced order types that add to a trading experience that is enhanced and only available to Premiere platforms
- Free research tools such as technical analysis reports, chart-pattern recognition tools
Equiti also offers Muslim traders the option of a Swap-free account. For more comparisons between the accounts visit Equiti’s website.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Deposits can be made through Wire/Bank Transfers, debit/credit cards, Neteller or Skrill and no fees are charged. Each payment option has its set of currencies that are supported, such as:
- Wire/Bank Transfers – USD, EUR, GBP, AED, SAR, JOD, JPY
- Debit/credit cards – USD, EUR, GBP, AED, SAR, JOD
- Neteller – USD, EUR, GBP, AED
- Skrill – GBP, USD, EUR, JOD, SAR, AED
The processing times differ as well. Where debit/credit cards, Neteller and Skrill take up to one working day, transfers through Wire/Bank can take between 1 – 3 working days.
A minimum deposit of 30 USD/ EUR/ GBP/ JOD or 100 AED/ SAR is required.
With regards to processing withdrawals, Neteller and Skrill take up to one working day for funds to reflect in the client’s account. Wire/Bank Transfers can take up to 3 – 5 working days and debit/credit cards from 5 – 14 working days, depending on the card issuer.
Debit/credit cards, Neteller, and Skrill all have a minimum of 30 USD/ EUR/ GBP/ JOD and 100 AED/ SAR which is required for a withdrawal.
Wire/Bank Transfers require a minimum of 25 JOD, 100 AED/ SAR or 50 USD/ EUR/ GBP.
Credit/debit cards do not have any fees charged by Equiti, but other payment providers have the following applicable fees:
- Wire/Bank Transfer – 100 AED/ SAR, 30 USD/ EUR/ GBP, and no fees charged on Domestic Payments within Jordan
- Neteller and Skrill – 1% to 30 USD maximum fees per transaction
Cost and Fees, Commissions and Spreads
The cost of trading depends on different factors like commissions, spreads, and margins.
The spread of a currency pair is the difference between the bid and the asking rate. A pip represents the smallest increment that an exchange rate can move. One pip is 0.01 for currency pairs with JPY as the term currency and 0.0001 for all other pairs.
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.
Commissions are the charges imposed by an investment broker on a trader for making trades on the trader’s behalf. The level of commissions will vary between different brokers and depends on the asset being traded and the type of service offered by the broker.
Execution-only brokers, that is a broker that does not involve in any personal investment advice and gives traders complete control over how they trade the markets, tend to have lower commissions.
Contract for differences (CFDs) trading, a popular form of derivative trading that enables traders to speculate on the rising or falling prices of fast-moving global financial markets, will incur commission on shares.
CFD trades on other markets have no commission but do wrap a spread around the market price of a certain instrument.
With the Executive account, the minimum required deposit is US Dollar 500, and this account allows for trading free of commission charges and with costs included in a spread from 1.6 pips.
The Premiere account requires a minimum deposit of US Dollar 20 000 and spreads from 0.2 pips and traders have more flexibility and trading terms.
Equiti has an overnight policy that is applicable should the trading order be held longer than a day or should the trader trade through a swap-free, or Islamic account. This fee is applicable to the position, which is held, for example:
Equiti does charge for deposits or withdrawals, although e-payment withdrawals may require a 1% cost per transaction. Traders should confirm with payment providers should they have their own charges for which the trader will be liable.
Leverage
The facility that enables a trader to get a much larger exposure to the market than the amount he or she deposited to open a trade, is called leverage. Such leveraged products magnify a trader’s potential profit – but of course, also increase the potential loss.
The amount of leverage is expressed as a ratio, for instance, 50:1, 100:1, or 500:1. Assuming that a trader has US Dollar 1,000 in his or her trading account and is trading ticket sizes of 500,000 USD/JPY, that leverage will equate to 500:1.
Equiti is regulated and authorized by FCA who has proposed a leverage cap of 1:50. However, Equiti gives their traders access to leverage levels of up to 1:500 on Forex and precious metals, 1:200 on CFDs, and 1:20 for equities.
Depending on the Equiti entity the trader deals with and whether they open the account under FCA regulation or regulations in MENA regions, they may be eligible for higher levels of leverage.
Traders need to acknowledge that with higher levels of leverage comes higher levels of gain and losses in equal and varying measures.
Bonuses
Forex brokers tend to lure new traders with offers of attractive deposit bonuses. This can be useful, but it is essential to discern what a proper bonus is.
Such a bonus is but a way to compensate traders for choosing a certain broke since once the account is opened, the trader will have the same expenses as any other.
The bonus is just a reward for the trader’s choice that gives some of these expenses back to the trader, once proving himself as an active trader.
Moreover, since 1 August 2018 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has placed investor protection measures on the marketing, distribution, or sale of CFDs to retail clients.
These prevent brokers to directly or indirectly provide the retail client with a payment, monetary or excluded non-monetary benefit in relation to the marketing, distribution or sale of a CFD, other than the realised profits on any CFD provided.
This means that a Deposit Bonus is not currently applicable for retail clients.
Equiti does not offer any bonuses when opening an account.
Trading Platforms, Software, and Its Features
The forex trading software provided by a broker company to its clients is called the platform and is used to carry out their trades.
A platform can be a multi-asset one, which means that it allows clients to not only trade forex but also other asset classes like CFDs on stocks, stock indices, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies.
The decision about which platform to choose will depend on what a client would like to trade, therefore it will be one of the criteria when choosing a broker too.
Equiti offers traders the use of the popular MetaTrader4 or EQTrader, which is Equiti’s own in-house trading platform.
MetaTrader4 not only allows traders to trade on different devices such as desktop computers and mobile devices, but it also ensures that traders have access at any time of the day, from anywhere in the world.
MetaTrader4 features include:
- Variety of financial instruments in which trade can occur in
- Cross-device as well as cross-platform trading
- Decision making based on structured data available in the charting package along with technical indicators
- Research and analytical tools available
EQTrader not only allows traders instant online access to their trading account without the need of downloads, but it also allows traders to access their accounts on any device at any time, from anywhere in the world.
EQTrader’s features include:
- Access to global markets along with trade that can occur in multiple asset classes through by using an interface that can be personalized and is highly user-friendly
- Online trading access does not require downloads or installation and can be accessed behind most firewalls
- Access to a variety of built-in technical indicators, shapes, and drawing tools
- Traders can also save an analyzed chart as an image on their chosen device
- With this trading platform, the value of the trade is displayed along with the margin requirement directly from the trading panel which can be viewed before a trade is in place
Markets, Products, and Instruments
Most brokers offer all or some of the following kinds of market instruments for trading:
Forex
Forex trading, also called currency or FX trading, involves the currency exchange market where individuals, companies and financial institutions exchange currencies for one another at floating rates.
Commodities
As with currency exchange markets, commodity markets offer different investment opportunities for traders. Investing in contract-based tradable goods is a reliable way to mitigate risk during times of inflation or economic uncertainty.
Indices
Equiti or stock indices are actual stock market indexes that measure the value of a specific section of a stock market. They can represent a specific set of the largest companies of a nation or they can represent a specific stock market.
Precious metals
The trading of gold and other precious metals involves hard commodities that are contract-based tradable goods.
Energy
The high volatility of energy prices due to political and environmental factors, supply and demand, extreme weather conditions, and global economic growth is a typical feature of this product, making it another popular trading choice.
Equiti offers trading in the following instruments: Forex, Precious metals, Indices, Commodities, UK Shares, US Shares, and EU Shares.
Safety and Regulation
One of the first things a potential trader needs to establish is whether a broker like Equiti is safe to trade with. One of the surest benchmarks to measure the safety of a brokerage is to establish which regulating authorities are watchdogs over its actions.
The Equiti Group operates through a range of offices and each holds the necessary license and is regulated according to various regulations.
Equiti is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is one of the strictest and demanding authorizing and regulatory entities.
Equiti, as with all other brokerages under FCA, is required to hold net tangible assets which amount to at least 730 000 EUR.
The company holds clients’ funds in segregated accounts and is prohibited from using these operational purposes. Equiti must also adhere to certain standards and procedures, and regular reports on trades to the commission are mandatory.
Equiti also falls under the FSCS, which means that should the company become insolvent, consumers are protected and up to £ 50 000 is paid out per person in such an event.
Customer Support
Potential traders need to be assured that the broker company they chose can offer the necessary support and help whenever they may need it.
Equiti offers customers support telephonically, via email, live chat or by completing the online query form.
Research
Potential traders should always do as much as possible research about speculative trading before commencing to do it.
Trading with confidence and success relies heavily on knowledge and understanding of the markets, therefore research options offered by brokers form an integral part of its features when choosing the right company to trade with.
Equiti does not offer many research tools but it does provide trading calculators (Forex, Pip Value, and Margins) and an economic calculator.
Education and Training
Before starting to trade, potential clients of Equiti should avail themselves of all possible information and trading skills needed to be successful in the world of forex and commodity trading.
If Equiti’s website itself does not provide enough means, a trader should explore other informative websites and means to obtain that knowledge.
Equiti has an Academy section on its website dedicated to educational tools. It provides a variety of tools to aid beginner traders in becoming skilled and experienced. Equiti offers the following:
- Trading guides – which cover a variety of topics such as what Forex is, how to trade it, rollover, etc.
- Webinars – which is not only a comprehensive but continuous program that overs educational lecturers online
- Educational seminars
- Workshops
- Videos covering various topics
- A Glossary
- Infographics
- Publications
Conclusion
Equiti caters to the beginner and professional trader and has trading conditions that are not only very attractive but suitable for all kinds of traders depending on their skills, knowledge, and experience.
It offers competitive spread and trade in a variety of instruments, along with competitive commission fees and all over a transparent pricing model.
Disclaimer
Information and products provided by Equiti are for information purposes only, and any decisions made regarding investment are done so at the trader’s own risk.
As leveraged products, margined Forex and CFD trading instruments may result in losses that can exceed the initial deposit.
Traders need to acknowledge and understand the risks that are involved, and they need to ensure that they manage their risk exposure effectively as trade in financial instruments may not be suitable for all traders.
Investment advice is not provided by Equiti and traders may consult independent and professional advisors if they feel the need to do so.
