MGM Markets - Is it Worth the Investment?
MGM Markets Review
Are you looking for a way to earn some extra income? Trading has become the top choice of individuals who are in search of a part time job that gives them flexibility and a chance to earn substantial returns. Forex trading, in particular, is immensely popular because it has become immensely easy to buy and sell foreign currencies online through brokers and there are not many restrictions you have to deal with. But, you do need a broker to get started. You can search on Google for a list of brokers who give you the opportunity to trade various financial instruments. Amongst the numerous options, you will come across MGM Markets.
This is an unlicensed forex and CFD brokerage, which is presumably based in the United Kingdom. Instead of the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform, MGM Markets claims to provide its clients with a web-based trading platform. A leverage of 1:200 is available and the broker also offers a wide variety of trading products. The minimum deposit requirement of the broker is around $250, which doesn’t come off as something strange because it is a common practice amongst forex brokers. Does this mean that MGM Markets is worth the investment? Let’s take a look at its offerings in detail:
MGM Markets - Safety and Regulation of Funds
If you take a look at the broker’s website, you will notice that there is not a lot of information available about the company behind it. As a matter of fact, only the name of the company is mentioned, which is Tube Global Marketing, and no other details are provided. There is no registered address available and the only reason is it presumed to be based in the UK is because they have provided a UK number for contacting them. This straight out should be considered a red flag and a warning regarding the legitimacy of the broker.
Every forex broker in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and they have to follow strict rules and regulations concerning their code of conduct. However, if you do a search of the registry list of the FCA with the name of MGM Markets, you will not find their name listed. This means that the broker doesn’t fall under any form of regulatory oversight. This is certainly a disadvantage because brokers in the UK are typically licensed by the FCA, which provides negative balance protection and insurance cover as the brokers become part of a compensation scheme. Your money will also not be kept in segregated accounts so misappropriation is also a possibility.
When you decide to trade with MGM Markets, you will not be protected by any such scheme or policy, which means your funds will be at risk.
MGM Markets - Trading Conditions
Another worrisome fact about MGM Markets is that even though it has mentioned on its website that there are six account types available, it has not provided any details about the trading conditions associated with these accounts, such as their leverage levels and spreads. You can scan the entire website of the broker and you will not come across any trading parameters, including spreads, leverage or the in-house trading platform the broker is offering. Moreover, there is no way to check whether the broker is transparent regarding its pricing and services because no demo accounts are available. The only way you will be able to verify the broker’s claims is by opening a live account with MGM Markets.
MGM Markets - High Spreads
When you open a Live account with the broker, you will come across the web interface MGM Markets has introduced. While the minimum deposit requirement for the first account is $250, Gold account holders are required to deposit as much as $10,000 for opening an account, which is considerably higher than what other brokers ask for the same account type. Apart from that, the spreads offered to Gold account holders for the EUR/USD currency pair are 3 pips. These trading costs are significantly more than what other brokers are offering. This means that you will have less to take home if you trade with MGM Markets.
MGM Markets - Trading Platform
As mentioned before, MGM Markets has chosen to offer its clients with their own trading platform, which boasts a web-based interface. On first try, the platform does seem easy to use, but you will soon realize that it lacks advanced analytic and charting functionalities. Moreover, you cannot compare this web-based trading platform to the most popular one out there i.e. MetaTrader 4 (MT4). This trading platform is the top choice of global traders because it offers all the necessary resources and tools for analyzing price dynamics of various financial instruments, develop and use automated trading strategies and execute transactions quickly. You will not find any of these features with the web-based trading platform introduced by MGM Markets.
Also, there is no demo account so you cannot just try out the platform and decide whether you are comfortable with it or not. It is possible that you may encounter problems in the long run or there might be a learning curve.
MGM Markets - Payment Methods
Potential clients are given the option of using debit and credit cards, both visa and MasterCard, bank wire transfers and e-wallets, such as Neteller, Paysafecard, WebMoney, AstroPay and Skrill. However, the broker has not mentioned any withdrawal fee and this could be a problem because you are dealing with an unregulated brokerage. Therefore, they may charge unexpected fee after you have deposited the funds in your account. It is a common problem with such brokers as they may not allow you to withdraw money unless you have a minimum balance in your account. An inactivity fee is also charged by the broker if you leave your account inactive.
MGM Markets - Bottom Line
This is an unregulated broker based in the UK and has very limited credibility. The fact that it is based in the UK and not regulated by the FCA is a clear sign that you cannot rely on its services.
