Alpari International Review

Review

Are you looking for better spreads? Then you’re in the right place.

Global giant Alpari is a world-renowned broker with over 20 years in the business. With offices in 8 different countries around the world, and 2 million+ clients – the reputation and trust the Alpari brand has established throughout the years is second to none.  

Alpari International is the fresh new face of the brand that continues the tradition of putting clients first. This broker offers 250+ financial instruments, a fully regulated platform and the best possible guidance, conditions and support to traders of all experience levels. Under its new direction and a team that has a proven track record for success, Alpari International is an excellent choice for the modern trader – especially because of its spreads. Take EUR/USD as just one example: it’s 0.9 for Standard Accounts and 0.1 on ECN. Compare that to the vast majority of other big brokers (which we did during this Alpari International Review!) and you’ll see what spreads can (and should) be like.

Established in 2013, the broker is creating a young and exciting chapter to the 20+ year Alpari history, with attractive promotions and programs to go along with its competitive trading conditions and multilingual customer service.

Headquartered in Mauritius and regulated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) Mauritius through their parent company Exinity Limited, Alpari International takes its role as a responsible broker very seriously.

It offers traders the opportunity to trade a fairly wide range of instruments mostly wrapped as CFDs (Contracts for Difference), offering trading in 11 major U.S. stocks, over 60 Forex currency pairs and crosses, the commodities gold, silver, crude oil and natural gas, the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple, and 11 major global equity indices. Maximum leverage (on Forex) is a very high 1000 to 1, although this reduces as the total notional trade size of all open positions rises, falling to a minimum of 25 to 1 at a total notional value of $8 million. The maximum leverage offered is significantly less on cryptocurrencies and other instruments such as individual stocks due to regulatory requirements.

Accounts

Alpari International differs from most brokers in offering clients a hybrid ECN/market-maker execution model, allowing the opportunity of fast execution and natural spreads. A choice between account types is offered freely but it is not possible to trade certain instruments through some account types, and certain account types are only available with one of the two trading platforms offered. All accounts may be based in any of four base currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, or NGN (Nigerian Naira). It is unusual to see a major broker accepting the currency of an African nation, but it shows how committed Alpari International is to localising its services and making trading more convenient.

Traders are offered a choice between four account types, two of which offer ECN execution while the other two offer market-maker execution. The first ECN account offered is the “ECN Account” and is available with either the MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 trading platforms. It requires a minimum deposit of $500 and offers a maximum (floating) leverage of 1000 to 1. Commission is $3 per lot round trip and the minimum spread available on the benchmark EUR/USD currency pair is 0.4 pips. The maximum volume per trade permissible is 50 lots. The second ECN account available is the “Pro Account” and is available only with the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. It requires a far larger minimum deposit of $25,000 and offers a maximum (floating) leverage of 300 to 1. Individual stocks may be traded only through the Pro Account. No commission is charged on this account, and the minimum spread available on the benchmark EUR/USD currency pair is 0.4 pips. The maximum volume per trade permissible is 250 lots.

As for the non-ECN, market-maker execution style accounts, traders are offered a choice here between the “Standard Account” and the “Micro Account”, both of which are available only with the MetaTrader 4 trading platform. The Standard Account requires a minimum deposit of $100 and offers a maximum (floating) leverage of 1000 to 1. The minimum spread charged on the benchmark EUR/USD currency pair is 1.2 pips. The maximum volume per trade permissible is 50 lots. The second, smaller account is the Micro Account requiring a minimum deposit of $5, offering a maximum (floating) leverage of 400 to 1. The minimum spread charged on the benchmark EUR/USD currency pair is 1.7 pips. The maximum volume per trade permissible is 1 lot.

Islamic “swap-free” accounts are available but may not be used to trade exotic Forex currency pairs.

Scalping and hedging are allowed, and automated trading is possible. This combination of offerings is something that is increasingly hard to find.

 

 

 

Alpari Copy Trading

Alpari International offers an easy-to-understand copy trading program – Alpari Copy Trading – for those who want to trade the markets but may not have the time or the knowledge to do it themselves.        

Investors choose to copy the trades from a wide selection of established Alpari International traders known as Strategy Managers. For a fee of only 100 EUR/USD/GBP they can select one Strategy Manager or more, and have their trades automatically copied to their accounts. While the risk of making losses is always present, with every successful trade the Strategy Manager makes the Investor makes a profit without needing to trade himself.

As the Copy Trading program contains terminology that can be hard to understand, Alpari International offers a clear breakdown and explanation of the most important Key Terms.   

Bonuses and Promotions

Alpari International offers a loyalty cashback promotion. For every lot a client trades, a real, withdrawable cash rebate is offered for up to 6 months. Five rebate levels are offered.

Limited-time promotions are also offered on occasion. For example, at the time of writing, Alpari International traders can get a 30% top-up of trading credit to their deposits (up to $5,000) for a period of 30 days.

Full details on both these promotions can be found in the terms and conditions.

Deposits/Withdrawals

Depositing funds into an Alpari International account is an easy and secure process. Traders can choose from a few different methods, including credit cards, debit cards, bank transfer, Neteller, FasaPay, WebMoney, Perfect Money, Bitcoin and Skrill. Withdrawals are generally made through the same channel that deposits have been made through. Alpari International add no charges of their own to any fees which may be charged by such payment processors.

Conclusion

Alpari International has a well-rounded and professional offering for traders looking to trade popular trading instruments in the form of CFDs, particularly in Forex, with a choice of execution model. Alpari International could be an especially attractive broker for clients with relatively small deposit size who wish to benefit from ECN execution and a low spreads / commissions model. 

Customer Support

Customer support is based in Mauritius offering support 24 hours per day Monday to Friday and for a few hours on Sunday afternoon.

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Features

In terms of features, the stand-out strengths of Alpari International’s offering are:

• A solid range of instruments available for trading: over 60 Forex currency pairs and crosses, the commodities gold, silver, crude oil and natural gas, the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple, and 11 major global equity indices. Larger depositors get more competitive spreads.
• Choice between ECN and market-maker execution models.
• Maximum leverage as high as 1000 to 1.
• Choice of Swap-Free account type (Islamic account).
• Regulated by an offshore industry centre (FSC Mauritius).
• Alpari is a well-established brokerage group.

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Platforms

MetaTrader4

The Alpari MetaTrader 4 platform offers a wide selection of charting tools as well as the ability to completely customize the platform to meet a trader’s personal specifications. A built-in programming language, trading strategies, scripts and indicators add additional functionality to the platform.

The Alpari MetaTrader 4 uses an intuitive, user-friendly interface with a wealth of technical analysis tools. The mobile app allows traders to use their MT4 accounts on their smartphone, tablet or Pocket PC.

MetaTrader4 connects traders to the interbank market with ECN Bridge technology while the built-in MQL4 programming language allows them to create their own advisors and indicators.

MetaTrader5

The Alpari MetaTrader 5 offers everything the MT4 platform offers and more. It introduces a number of new features and technical upgrades including a library of free, ready-to-use Expert Advisors (trading robots), indicators and scripts written with MT5's built-in programming language, MQL5 and the ability to optimize trading strategies with a high-speed back-testing tool.

The MetaTrader5 platform is geared towards a more advanced trader as it offers 38 built-in indicators, 39 graphical objects and a plethora of customized options. This platform is only available in the demo version and is not available for live trading.

Alpari Platform

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User Reviews

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