IFX Brokers vs. FXTM

IFX Brokers has become immensely popular with South African traders since its establishment in 2018, and the broker is broadly favoured for its tight spreads, high level of regulation, access to award-winning platforms and great customer support.

But how does IFX Brokers compare to industry behemoth, FXTM? In this comprehensive review we take a close look at the offerings of both IFX Brokers and FXTM to help you decide on the best broker or your trading needs.

10 Best Forex Brokers in South Africa with Same-day Withdrawals

Overall Comparison

FEATURE

IFX Brokers

FXTM

General comparison

4/5

4/5

Regulation

5/5

5/5

Spreads and fees

4/5

3/5

Trading Platforms

4/5

4/5

Trading Apps

4/5

4/5

Analytical Tools

4/5

4/5

Educational Resources

5/5

4/5

Trust Score

93

95

Best in class

x

 

Regulation Comparison

FEATURE

IFX Brokers

FXTM

Trust score

93

95

Year Founded

2018

2013

Publically Traded

No

No

Licensed in South Africa

Yes

Yes

Assets Comparison

FEATURE

IFX Brokers

FXTM

Forex

Yes

Yes

CFDs

Yes

Yes

Number of Forex pairs

60

59

US Stock Trading

No

Yes

International Stock Trading

No

No

Cryptocurrency CFDs

Yes

Yes

Fees Comparison

FEATURE

IFX Brokers

FXTM

Average Spread for EUR/USD

0.2 pips

1.2 pips

Commissions Charged

Yes

No

ECN Execution

Yes

Yes

Market Maker Execution

No

Yes

Deposit Options Comparison

FEATURE

IFX Brokers

FXTM

Deposit fees

No

No

Bank wire

Yes

Yes

MasterCard

Yes

Yes

PayPal

No

No

Skrill

Yes

Yes

Minimum Deposit

$100

$10

Trading Platforms Comparison

FEATURE

IFX Brokers

FXTM

Desktop Platform

Yes

Yes

Mobile App

Yes

Yes

Social Trading

Yes

Yes

MetaTrader 4

Yes

Yes

MetaTrader 5

Yes

Yes

cTrader

No

No

DupliTrade

No

No

ZuluTrade

No

Yes

Proprietary Platform

No

No

Analytical Tools Comparison

FEATURE

IFX Brokers

FXTM

Economic Calendar

Yes

Yes

Social Sentiment

Yes

Yes

Trading Central

No

No

AutoChartist

No

No

Forex News Sources

Yes

Yes

Daily Market Commentary

Yes

Yes

Educational Resources Comparison

FEATURE

IFX Brokers

FXTM

Offers education

Yes

Yes

Webinars

Yes

Yes

Beginner training videos

Yes

Yes

Advanced training videos

Yes

Yes

Glossary

No

Yes

Majors Offered

FEATURE

IFX Brokers

FXTM

GBP/USD

Yes

Yes

USD/JPY

Yes

Yes

EUR/USD

Yes

Yes

USD/CHF

Yes

Yes

USD/CAD

Yes

Yes

NZD/USD

Yes

Yes

AUD/USD

Yes

Yes

IFX Brokers vs. FXTM

We spent many hours thoroughly examining the best-in-class Forex brokers for 2022. Here, we take a closer look at IFX Brokers vs. FXTM.

 

Which offers better pricing – IFX Brokers or FXTM?

IFX Brokers offers an average spread of 0.2 pips on the EUR/USD, while FXTM offers an average spread of 1.2 pips on the same currency pair.

As such, IFX Brokers clearly offers tighter spreads on average than FXTM. That said, FXTM claims to offer completely commission-free trading, which means that spreads will be wider overall.

As such, it is ultimately up to each trader to determine which pricing structure they prefer – commission-free with wider spreads (as from FXTM), or commissions included on certain instruments with tighter spreads (as from IFX Brokers).

 

Which broker offers more security when trading Forex and CFDs?

Both IFX Brokers and FXTM are extremely well-regulated and provide a high level of security when trading Forex and CFDs.

IFX Brokers is regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa, and offers a transparent and secure trading environment for local and regional traders.

FXTM is an international Forex broker which is well-regulated by a number of top tier regulators in several different jurisdictions. These regulators include the FCA, CySEC, FSC and the FSCA, ensuring that traders enjoy a high level of security when trading Forex and CFDs.

 

Which broker offers the superior trading platform?

Both IFX Brokers and FXTM provide access to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, which are award-winning platforms popular for their variety of trading features and access to social trading capabilities.

However, FXTM goes a step further by also offering access to ZuluTrade, a social trading platform that is renowned for its copy trading capabilities, making FXTM an excellent choice for algorithmic traders.

 

Do these brokers both offer MetaTrader?

Yes, Both FXTM and IFX Brokers offer access to MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, consisting of the full MetaTrader suite from MetaQuotes.

 

How many Forex pairs can I expect from these brokers?

IFX Brokers comes out slightly ahead of FXTM by offering 60 currency pairs while FXTM offers one less at 59 currency pairs. Both brokers offer access to the same selection of major currency pairs.

 

Is it safe to trade with IFX Brokers?

Because the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) regulates IFX Brokers in every possible way, opening an account with them is not only possible but also completely risk-free for traders in South Africa. This institution is the most important regulator of the financial markets in South Africa.

The trading environment provided by IFX Brokers is safe, transparent, and secure. This is because brokers that are authorised by the FSCA are required to store all traders’ funds in segregated accounts, and disgruntled customers have the right to protest bad service via the Ombudsman.

 

Is it safe to trade with FXTM?

Yes, FXTM is an international broker which is well-regulated in several jurisdictions by top tier regulators, as well as in South Africa.

As such, FXTM is regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cypress Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the FSCA and the FSA, making it a well-regulated and secure broker with which to trade both in South Africa and internationally.

 

Who is IFX Brokers?

IFX Brokers is a trading name of the company IFX Brokers Holdings (Pty) Ltd, which is a South African-based corporation registered by the local Financial Sector Conduct Authority.

Traders have the opportunity to trade a wide variety of financial assets when they use IFX brokers. These assets include futures, indexes, commodities, energy, and metals.

IFX Brokers makes it easy to create an account in a short amount of time. However, the process of having an account approved can take many days.

The fact that IFX requires you to transmit verification documents like proof of residence via email also contributes to the increased level of safety afforded by the process.

Enhanced charting functionality and fully functional order management features are also included in the IFX MetaTrader 4’s feature set. This platform also gives a detailed analysis, supports numerous chart layouts, and includes an interface that supports multiple languages.

It is also customizable, giving you the ability to change the location of the tabs as well as their size.

IFX Brokers provides one of the most comprehensive MT4 upgrade packages available, which includes 85 different indicators already installed. This indicates IFX’s dedication to automated traders, despite the fact that IFX’s own trading platform does not enable this functionality.

The MAM/PAMM module is not offered on the MT4 trading platform at IFX; nonetheless, there is a copy-trading option available on the platform.

The software can be downloaded as a desktop application for use on computers running Windows or Mac operating systems, as well as a mobile application that can be used on devices running Android or iOS.

For those customers who wish to trade using margin, IFX offers a maximum leverage of 1:500.

You, as a client, have the ability to make manual adjustments to the leverage, which is a positive aspect of this. Regrettably, not all brokers provide access to this particular feature in their trading platforms.

In order to choose the leverage, if you are a client, you will need to navigate to the tab labelled “Deposit and Withdrawal.”

Changing the leverage is a useful function to have when you want to cut down on the risk associated with your trade. For example, when trading commodity CFDs, rather than trading with a leverage of 5:1, you can trade with a leverage of 2:1 instead.

When trading forex and CFDs, it is essential to exercise extreme caution due to the possibility that the preset leverage levels will be high.

 

Who is FXTM?

Many new traders in South Africa will find that FXTM is an excellent option for them. It features a range of learning materials in both video and written format, as well as a Micro Account that only requires a little initial deposit, and it is a good platform for copy trading.

Its daily market analysis will also assist novice traders in understanding the real-world ramifications of news events on the foreign exchange (Forex) market and identifying potential trading opportunities.

Overall, FXTM has a lot of great features, especially for new traders, but more experienced investors could find it difficult to see beyond some of the platform’s shortcomings.

Although FXTM’s portfolio of trading instruments is limited in comparison to that of many of its other competitors and the company does not offer any cryptocurrencies for trading, it does provide a leverage of up to 2000:1 on major currency pairings.

On key currency pairs, the leverage offered by FXTM can go up to 2000:1, making it one of the largest in the business.

When trading with such a large leverage, especially on accounts with minimal minimum deposits, investors should exercise extreme caution because they run the risk of having their whole account balance wiped out or even going into the red.