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OANDA Review
Review
OANDA is a multi-faced financial services Forex and CFD broker and market maker. Founded in 1996, OANDA is based in the New York and is available for traders in the U.S., Canada, Asia,Europe and Australia. The company has been the recipient of several international awards and is regulated in six different countries under ASIC, CFTC/NFA, FCA, IIROC, JFSA, MAS
OANDA was the first broker in 1995 to offer a broad range of currency exchange-rate information free of charge over the Web. Today, it possesses one of the world's largest and most accurate databases of currency rates, handling more than a million queries a day. The FxTrade trading platform was launched in 2001.
Accounts
OANDA offers 2 account types, standard and premium, and there is no minimum deposit required to open an account. They also offer 2 pricing models: spread-only pricing and core pricing plus commissions (a commission paid per trade). A demo account is available for traders who are learning to trade Forex. Unlike most other Forex brokers that offer the demo for a limited time, OANDA’s fxTrade Practice is available for as long as it takes a trader to build their trading skills before opening a real account.
A 100,000-unit starting balance or profit/loss can be reset at any time, and leverage can be changed to test a trader’s comfort level. Leverage starts at 10:1. OANDA offers over 90 currency and precious metal pairs.
Features
There are many excellent trading tools available at OANDA.
MotiveWave is a professional charting, technical analysis and trading platform which enables traders to quickly and easily perform detailed traditional analysis using cycles, trend lines, channels, forks, studies and more.
MotiveWave Trading Tool
FinGraphs Trading Tool
The OANDA Trading Performance portal, powered by Chasing Returns, can provide you with an in-depth view into your trading habits. Utilizing your trading data and drawing on behavioural science, this platform will help you focus on your strengths while identifying areas in your trading that may be improved.
OANDA Market Reports is powered by Autochartist and gives traders a quick overview of the state of the markets delivered to their inbox before they start their analysis for the day. Automated traders can also use the Autochartist program to customize MT4 and automated OANDA technical analysis indicators. Market Reports offer a technical outlook of the Forex markets for the next 24- to 48-hours.
Candlestick Tool
Forex Order Book
Also powered by Autochartist as a MetaTrader 4 Plugin, is continuous technical analysis featuring ongoing intraday market scanning, automatic chart pattern recognition, pattern quality indicators, and automated alerts for specified patterns.
Technical traders can also avail themselves of candlestick patterns to try to predict future price movements.
A clear description of each of the above tools is provided on the website accompanied by relevant graphs when applicable.
The Forex Order Book is a 24-hour summary of open orders and positions held by OANDA's clients. This unique feature compares OANDA's clients' open orders and positions for any major currency pair. The open order and open position data is one of many insights which are part of OANDA’s suite of decision-making analytical tools.
OANDA is proud of its updated currency converter which can be easily accessed on their home page. OANDA's currency calculator tools use OANDA Rates, the touchstone foreign exchange rates compiled from leading market data contributors. These rates are trusted and used by major corporations, tax authorities, auditing firms, and individuals around the world.
The currency converter is available for mobile devices such as Android and iPhone.
OANDA's Currency Converter
Education
There are several areas of education at OANDA’s Academy. In addition to video training on a number of topics, there is a choice of interesting articles for both beginners and advanced traders. Develop your trading strategy and learn how to use trading tools for market analysis and capital management.Updated news reports from several different media sources are available on OANDA—MarketPulse, 4Cast, and the Dow Jones FX Select which provides Forex trading professionals with real-time breaking news, expert trend analysis, and in-depth policy commentary developed by a global team of Dow Jones business news reporters and editors.
The Commitments of Traders (CoT) is a weekly report published every Friday at 3:30pm and issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that aggregates the holdings of large speculators, mainly hedge funds and banks in the U.S. futures markets where commodities, metals, and currencies are bought and sold.
MarketPulse Website
OANDA also offers a series of live informative webinars and on-demand online learning with subjects that are suitable for both new and experienced Forex Traders. Subjects such as ‘Core risk management principles’ and ‘Avoiding commonplace trading errors ’ are offered for beginner traders. There are also intermediate topics as well as more advanced subjects. Examples of these include ‘Avoiding False Breakouts’ ,’Pinpointing trading opportunities with Fibonacciand ‘Psychology pitfalls of a trader.’
A well listed economic calendar is also available.
Regulation
OANDA is regulated in six different countries under the local regulatory boards--ASIC, CFTC/NFA, FCA, IIROC, JFSA, MAS
Customer Support
Traders can reach customer support via email, online chat or phone during local trading hours and OANDA also offers a thorough FAQ section on their website to find answers to common questions quickly.
Deposits/Withdrawals
Deposits can be made into the OANDA account by check, bankwire, or debit card backed by Visa or Mastercard.
Conclusion
OANDA is a leading financial service provider. The website is easily navigated and opening an account is straight forward and can be done quickly. The broker offers a full line of products and services and is internationally regulated. I was pleased to see a site plan that included all the topics I was looking forward. Not all brokers supply this.
Back to TopFeatures
Most investors choose their brokers based on the features they offer their clients. OANDA has many interesting features and traders are attracted to it for many reasons.
Most important of all the features at OANDA is that it is regulated in six different countries under NFA, CySEC, ASIC, CFTC, MiFID, and FCA. This is very unusual in the Forex industry where some brokers function without even one regulation. This makes trader from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan and the Asia Pacific feel secure and assured that they are dealing with a reputable broker.
Company Information
- Broker's Name : OANDA
- Headquarter : United States
- Regulation : CFTC, FCA, NFA, ASIC, IIROC, JFSA, MAS
Account Information
- Type of Broker : Market Maker
- U.S. Clients Allowed :
- Minimum Deposit : $1
- Maximum Leverage : 1:48
- Commissions / Spreads : Variable
- Account 1 : Standard
- Demo Account :
- Islamic Account :
- Segregated Account :
- Managed Accounts :
- Institutional Accounts :
- Deposit Options :
- Withdrawal Options :
Instruments Traded
- ETFs :
- CFDs :
- Commodities :
- Metals :
- Stocks :
- Oil :
- Gold :
- Binary Options :
- Indices :
Trading Platforms
- Type of Platform : MetaTrader 4, Proprietary platform
- Platform Languages :
- Multiple Languages
- OS Compatibility :
- Mobile
iPhone- iPad
- Trading Signals :
- Charting Package :
- Market Analysis :
- Chart Trading :
- Automated Trading :
- Scalping :
- Hedging :
- Mobile Alerts :
- E-mail Alerts :
- Trailing Stops :
- Guaranteed Stop Loss :
- Guaranteed Limit Orders :
- One-click Execution :
- OCO Orders :
- Interest on Margin :
- Web-based Trading :
- Mobile Trading :
Customer Support
- Website Languages :
- Multiple Languages
- Support Hours : 24/5
- E-mail Support :
- SMS Support :
- Chat :
FXTrade
OANDA’s primary trading platform is called fxTrade. The demo version is referred to as fxTrade Practice.
The OANDA fxTrade platform was designed to reduce CFD and Forex trading costs and speed up execution to within 0.077 seconds or less. That's 5 times faster than a blink of an eye. 98% of the trades are executed within this short time span.
OANDA fxTrade can be accessed at work, at home, or on the road. There is no need for a dedicated trade station, and the Java interface requires no software installation.
OANDA's fxTrade Platform
There many features on the OANDA fxTrade platform.
Real-time market orders and limit orders can be made with one click. Stop loss/take profit, trailing stops, or upper and lower bounds can be used to prevent unwanted order execution in the event of a rapid market fluctuation and traders can update stop losses, take profits, and trailing stops by simply clicking on the graph.
The OANDA fxTrade platform allows traders to see their real-time account balance and Net Asset Value (NAV) at a glance and analyze changes in currency exchange rates, review current trades, review past transactions, or issue buy and sell requests while keyboard shortcuts can be used to navigate quickly through charts and open trading windows.
The OANDA trading platform is available in English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish.
Charts and Graphs
When it comes to advanced charting tools, the OANDA fxTrade platform offers several. Traders can zoom in on short-term trends, or zoom out to see macro trends and can adjust graphing increments from seconds to days.
They can also see real-time rates and spreads plotted directly on the graph, in a variety of different styles.
Mobile
The OANDA fxTrade platform for Mobile devices allows traders to trade anywhere on an intuitive user interface with fast and reliable execution. They can make trading decisions using real-time charting and advanced analysis tools and can keep up with market movements with price alerts and limit order notifications.
OANDA's Mobile Platform
All the other features of the desk version are also available through the mobile app.
Back to TopMT4
In addition to the OANDA fxTrade platform, traders at OANDA can also use the MetaTrader4 trading perform which offers competitive spreads without any commission.
The MetaTrader 4 platform is totally flexible and offers multiple servers. Traders can view five daily candles per week on the GMT+2 servers. Trading thru MetaTrader 4 can be done in 17 languages.
OANDA's MetaTrader 4 Platform
OANDA’s MetaTrader4 platform offers fast execution; advanced charting where traders identify potential trading opportunities with advanced chart-pattern recognition and automated alerts; and test strategies where traders can set up different sub-accounts for each strategy for increased targeted analysis.
Automated traders can also use the Autochartist program which offers customizable MT4 and automated OANDA Technical Analysis indicators.
OANDA's MetaTrader 4 Automated Trading
Expert Advisors (EAs) are the programs that are used for automated analytical and trading processes. Developed in MetaQuotes Language 4 (MQL 4 trading processes, these programs perform immediate technical analysis of price data, and manage trading activities on the basis of pre-programmed trading strategies.
The OANDA MetaTrader4 platform can be used in the demo account.
Mobile
In addition to its desktop computer software, OANDA also offers a mobile application which can be downloaded for free for use on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
Back to TopUser Reviews
Did you have a good experience with this broker? A bad one? Tell our team and traders worldwide about your experience in our User Reviews tab. Your email address will not be posted.
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vanyoelle12
I have to come out of the dark to help traders. With my Binary option and Forex strategies, I have made profit in the past 3 years and now I make £20,000 every week. After changing a lot of strategies, I and my associates have decided to share this one since it's a success. It is the least I can do for beginners or people who have lost much to binary options and are looking for the right strategy which I am willing to help for free. Email me via my email vanderlaanyoelle007@gmail.com for help.
Cormac.Terry
Been with Oanda since May 2006. I find their charting indicators very basic and pretty useless for me. My biggest gripe is the fact you can not hedge in just one account - you have to go long in one account and short in another. As both accounts look identical in terms of color and indicators shown, you have to be extremely careful that you are in your appropriate account when opening or closing a trade, otherwise you will be offsetting an already open trade in the account you place the trade. Most frustrating - and expensive!
For charting, I use one of the several "free" charting services with more options for my indicators - I don't have to use closing prices exclusively, I can use high,low or mid points as my variables etc...
vovkfx
Oanda is very old and reliable broker, with many licenses. That’s why I opened an account with them. A lot of interesting services and good pack of instruments. But when I started trading I faced a lot of problems: sometimes my SLs was removed, spreads are often higher then must be. Also my friend, scalper, was trying to do business with them, but after 2 weeks of trading he WD his money and changed his broker, so if you are a scalper, I advise you to stay away: big slippages and bad execution.
Barbara O'Sullivan
I see that Daily Forex has a new format for its reviews and that they have updated their review of this broker. I've been trading with Oanda for years now and it's been a good experience. They have added the MT4 platform which has made trading much easier.
Go For It
I'm doing lots of research for a forex broker. This one is regulated so maybe I will go with it.
Jose Fernandez
This is a good broker. I live in the United States and there isn't too many brokers that sell currencies. I like this one a lot.
Alie Campbell
Oanda seems to have been around forever. But they always seem to be changing and I guess that is good. I am debating whether to open an account with them or with another broker. I like that they use the metatrader4 platform.
idht
They will tell you about how good they are, let me concentrate on the other side to be fair. So, what have we got?
- A buggy website.
- A lot of bureaucracy during account opening.
- No options for secure electronic document uploading, you have to take the risk and email them scans of the documents. It's quite unsafe and unsecure.
- Waaay outdated trading tools. Aren't they still on MT4????
In trading, the winner is often the one with the best tools. Good luck if you are with Oanda. you may need it often.
- hidden fees during the money transfers: I paid for the incoming wire to Oanda, for the outgoing wire. I thought, that was it. No, two weeks later I received a (well delayed, wasn't it) extra charge for $25 "from the intermediary bank". an authentic hidden charge.
they sure have a nice marketing team though. WE ARE THE BEST they tell you. Sorry, I don't think so.
Greg
Im not sure how old this review is but it seems a bit dated. I can say as far as Oanda platforms they have a nice Java one and really nice iPhone and iPad one as well. Now I can't say that I have used MetaTrader but I can tell you that Oanda does indeed offer it as an option to those who wish it. Oanda does seem to offer very tight spreads at least compared to FXCM. They also claim not to trade against their traders. Just some food for thought.
Sara Patterson
Same Guy - you're totally right, and I fixed it. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!
same guy
BTW, they now accept credit card deposit for USD, so you might as well update the "disadvantage" section. ;) http://fxtrade.oanda.com/account/deposit-funds
lolatyou
LOL @ all these negative "ya ya ya bucket shop bucket shop" comments by the shills. Have fun!
Raul
I am totally agree with Baneya. Oanda is a Bucket Shop. What he is telling happened to me yesterday. I was trading and the market move against me. When I wanted to close the trade, the connetion was lost. So, stay away of Oanda and look for a real ECN broker. They are thieves.
sonny
I've used Oanda on a test basis and one comment I want to add is that during new breaks (medium to high FX calander events) their spreads wided unto 10-15 pips. during the same period DBFX only went to 4-5 pip range.
Jeff
Oanda are thieves. They may say the spreads are small, but they charge interest on every one of their trades, except for going long on AUD. If you go long EUR against the USD, you pay negative interest. If you go long EUR against the JPY, you pay negative interest. Long EUR against the Swissie, you pay negative interest. It is a backdoor way to steal your money, very underhanded, and should be actionable for misleading trade practices.
baneya
I have been with Oanda for about a year. Oanda is a market maker so they actively trade against there customers. They actively hunt stop losses. Oanda's trading platform freezes often. I have lost my connection to my trading account while trading and they told me that I was having internet connectivity problems even though I could get to other web sites and log in to my email without a problem. They also did not know that I used to be a network administrator before telling me that I was having internet connectivity problems. Oanda is a highly manipulated environment. The correct term for this type of broker is a "Bucket Shop" ECN brokers are the most free market breed of broker. They do not have a dealing desk that can be manipulated. ECN brokers want you to be successful because they make money when you make money. Oanda makes money when you loose. As time moves forward traders will opt for ECN brokers and market makers will go bust.
Vahrokh
I find it odd to see this site flagged with 3 stars, while completely trash others have 5. I tried a dozen including most of the top page and they might be beautiful or super-easy but what ultimately matters is the meat, sorry. OANDA is NOT easy mode - true and opening a cross oceanic account can be a pain. But past those barriers, their factual quality is hugely above other 5 star names. 1) They are actually certified and traceable, unlike so many "fiscal paradise island funds" who can do you any abuse and even disappear with little hope of refund. They want 1000 safety measures when opening an account (is it bad? Sure it sucks but it's quite transparent, i.e. something new in finance and they helped me online for hours when my bank made a mistake) 2) Their platform is not as easy or powerful as I'd like (ie no Metatrade or similar) but in exchange they have low response times and even during moderate big jumps your quotes are honored, stop loss and trailing always saved my money so far. 3) In case of trouble (and as new trader you *WILL* have some) their chat was always ready, prompt and resolutive (this is what I mean with "meat", the good services can be seen when things go wrong not by their nice graphics) 4) The spread is decent indeed just make sure to check what rate is going for the day and pair because despite they publish their wages (aka spread) per currency there are so many combinations you can easily miss on one of them. 5) As I said above, their platform is not Metatrade but still it supports a good deal of parametrizable indicators, oscillators and so on, from Fibonacci to many famous and less famous ones. They got a PDF and online guide about when to use them but remember their site is for the "newbie that has learned some ropes already". But to fully know what to do, just spend (or better, *invest* because it's gold time) some time on babypips.com/school and you'll be more than setup. In closing, I'd give OANDA 4 to 4.5 stars and only because they lack of programmable platform. The long term and standing qualities (not without troubles, but no broker has no troubles expecially those spending all their time at making taking money off you VERY easy but hard to take it back) and long term day after day viability make it for me one of the best entry level and middle level brokers. I found better - there's always better - but they expect you to be a semi-professional with $10k+ on hand and thus beyond this review site.
Review info: OANDA
Review Date: 2019-04-14
Rating :
Reviewed By : Sara Patterson