This article is not a recommendation but rather my personal opinion on the current state of the market. For details on which broker I would personally choose, please refer to the article “My Choice of Broker.”
Let’s start with the Russian market. Since most of my clients are Russian-speaking, I cannot overlook the Russian market. It’s not that I particularly like it, but for beginners, it is quite suitable for learning the basic tools and mechanisms of the market. At one time, I worked with two brokers:
BCS (Brokercreditservice, www.bcs.ru) — The company offers a very flexible and customer-friendly commission system and is the developer of its own trading platform, QUIK. By the way, this also helps you understand what a queue of orders and transaction fees mean.
IT-Invest (www.itinvest.ru) — Currently, one of the market leaders. The company is noteworthy for its proprietary trading terminal, SMARTTRADE, which was the first to offer clients cluster analysis.
I’ll repeat my personal opinion: I consider the Russian market to be low-liquidity, highly politicized, and, above all, expensive to maintain. However, it is quite suitable for training during the first 3-6 months. Trading conditions: Recommended deposit of at least 50,000 rubles, commission from 0.035% to 0.017% of turnover + exchange fee, spread — market-based.
The American stock market. Compared to forex, the cost of services is also very high. The apparent high volatility in forex is achieved by increasing leverage. Additionally, Americans are very strict about paying taxes, and brokers may constantly require you to confirm that you have paid your taxes. But if this does not deter you, try opening an account with Interactive Brokers (www.interactivebrokers.com). Why? Simply because, as far as I know, it is the liquidity provider for 80% of the companies offering services for trading American stocks in the CIS. And without intermediaries, it is both more reliable and cheaper. Trading conditions: Minimum deposit of $2,000, commission from $3.5 to $0.5 per 1,000 shares + exchange fees + order fees (from $0.35 to 1% of the order value). Spread — market-based.
Saxobank (www.saxobank.com) — This is primarily forex, although the website of this Danish broker offers you over 35,000 instruments. I worked with Saxo when it was still called MIDAS. That was back in 1997-1998. For some reason, I didn’t like it — possibly due to a technical failure, but the market is large enough to choose a broker with whom you won’t feel discomfort. However, keep in mind that Saxo is a real liquidity provider for smaller forex companies that you might have heard of, so as always, avoid intermediaries. Trading conditions: Minimum deposit of $10,000, commission from $50 to $17 per million turnover, spread — market-based.
AETOS (www.aetos.com) — A Chinese broker licensed in Australia and the United Kingdom. Trading terminal — MT4. Minimum deposit — from $500. Very few brokers with such a set of licenses offer deposits with such small amounts. Despite the fact that I have the ability to help you open an account on preferential terms, the company is not tailored to the Russian market, and the spreads, to be honest, leave much to be desired. Trading conditions: Minimum deposit of $500, commission is not explicitly stated and is included in the spread, around $50 per million turnover.
LMAX (www.lmax.com) — This is not even a broker, but an exchange platform. An ideal broker for speculative trading, and it is no coincidence that it is one of the liquidity providers for FXOpen. Here, I can also offer you preferential terms. However, your investments must exceed $500. As with the previous company, LMAX has strict British regulation, a fantastic trading platform, and commissions starting at $25 per million turnover. Trading conditions: Minimum deposit of $10,000 (preferential terms for Boris Borbot’s trading school students, details upon request), commission from $25 per million turnover, spread — market-based.
Finally, I will conclude my review with another financial giant that I had the opportunity to work with, FC Stone (www.fcstone.com). The list of licenses held by this company would probably take up half a page, and I won’t list them all, but my favorite FCA is certainly among them. Having a trading account with this company is something every trader should aspire to. You will have access to strategic trading with physical delivery of goods, hedging with OTC options, and speculative operations. You should strive for this at least because the company considers clients with deposits starting at $500,000. Even though such a deposit is already a good recommendation in itself, I believe I can help you improve the basic trading conditions. Trading conditions: Minimum deposit of $500,000, commission from $20 per million turnover, spread — market-based.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me through any of the provided contacts.
