CMC Markets Review: Pros and Cons Uncovered 2023

CMC Markets is one of the longest established brokers in the world, originally founded in 1989 in the UK.

The broker is best known for offering such a wide range of trading assets and features through their online platform that attracts traders from all over the world, including CFDs, spread betting, forex, commodities and even cryptocurrency.

Our review team have analysed the broker’s platform to provide you with a complete CMC Markets review that considers key aspects like their account types, trading platforms, CFDs, fees and more.

To summarise the CMC Markets features:

• FCA-regulated
• No minimum deposit required
• Over 10000 tradable CFDs
• 300 forex pairs available
• Spread Betting provided to UK traders
• Extensive range of trading offerings
• Free bank withdrawals
• Excellent option for all types of traders and experience levels
• Array of educational resources

CMC Markets is one of the many brokers now offering demo accounts, so you can see if their features work for you and your trading strategies before parting with any money.

OPEN A CMC MARKETS DEMO ACCOUNT

(78% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider.)

Our Opinion on CMC Markets

CMC Markets is a great DMA broker offering 10,000+ assets and with more than 180 awards won over 30 years of trading. A broker suited to everyone they offer low forex spreads from 0.3 pips combined with real stock trading features (not available worldwide). The minimum deposit is low and with multiple account types to select from.

The wealth of experience sees CMC Markets regulated by no less than 4 top-tier bodies though among the variety of account types you will not find a zero spread or swap-free account. With that said, there is no commission on forex and the spreads start very low anyway. They also provide a good range of base currencies to help you avoid a conversion fee, and invest in your future with an excellent educational section.

Pros and Cons

Pros

On the other side, what you will find is a massive range of assets to trade in. There are more than 10,000 to choose from with in excess of 4,900 of these being stocks from exchanges around the world and over 300 forex pairs.

Alongside this, you will be glad to find an account type choice available to fit everyone at each experience level. When it comes to real stock trading, this is open to Australian clients, and the entire broker remains very accessible with no minimum deposit needed to get started.

Cons

Starting out with some of the issues you might face at CMC Markets, it is evident that there is no swap-free account available, nor are there any social trading features provided for even from a third-party platform. This could draw away traders who require any of these elements.

They are also among a reducing number of brokers not to allow algo-trading. This means that even though they offer a huge range of forex trading pairs, they are not the choice for you as an algo-trader.

Pros and Cons: a summary

The table below highlights some important advantages and issues in the various broker areas as CMC Markets.

If you want to expand your research, and evaluate some options similar to this broker, you can consult the alternatives to CMC Markets.

CFDs and Forex Review

A genuinely huge offering is available here for CFD and forex trading with a focus on currencies. A total of more than 330 currency pairs are available with forex futures included for trading. This is a tremendous range and more than most of the top forex brokers anywhere.

The spread too represents great value with a starting point of just 0.3 pips and no commission to worry about. This combats the fact well that there is no zero spread account type made available.

Pros

• The starting spread remains super-low from only 0.3 pips
• There is no commission charged despite the low spreads
• Great asset range, and one of only a few to offer forex futures markets

Cons

• There is no Zero Spread account available

Spread Betting Review

CMC Markets spread betting first off is award-winning. As recently as 2020 they picked up an accolade for having the best spread betting educational tools. If you are a UK trader, then spread betting here is available to you with no minimum deposit or commission to think of.

Considering value, the spread on forex here starts from 0.7 pips which is very competitive and of course, you have a monster range of more than 10,000 assets to trade.

In all, CMC is a top-level choice for anyone considering spread betting given the range of assets, award-winning tools, and platform, combined with the amazing asset range.

Pros

• Again the starting spread at 0.7 pips with no commission is good value
• Very accessible to all with no minimum deposit needed
• A great range of educational tools are on offer
• A huge range of more than 10,000 assets to spread bet

Cons

• The service is only available to UK-based traders

CMC Stockbroking Review

Stock trading at CMC is available, but the account type is only open to Australian traders at the moment. Here you will find the broker’s own trading platform for stocks that is available only as a webtrader, not great if you prefer mobile or desktop trading.

Commission is charged on the more than 4,900 stocks that are available across 29 different global stock exchanges, but this remains good value.

The platform itself is also free to use though you can pay a monthly fee for additional features. You can also monitor each of the markets directly from the platform itself. This greatly increases convenience for many traders.

Pros

• Both the account type and trading platform are dedicated to stock trading
• Another massive range of stocks is accessible
• Stock movements can be monitored directly within the trading platform

Cons

• This account type is only open to Australian traders
• The platform is only available as a webtrader. No Desktop or mobile version

Is CMC Markets regulated and legit?

CMC Markets is regulated depending on the jurisdiction you are located in, thus they are able to operate legally and adhere to the rules within each area.

The company is regulated by four renowned top-tier entities, and New Zealand’s FMA. The following regulatory bodies which it adheres to are:

• CMC Markets UK Plc is regulated by FCA with license number 173730.
• CMC Markets Singapore Pte. Ltd. is regulated by MAS with license number 200605050E.
• CMC Markets NZ Limited is authorised and regulated by FMA. Their licence number is FSP41187.
• CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty Ltd is regulated by ASIC, authorised by the license number 238054.
• CMC Markets Canada Inc is regulated by IIROC and ther license number is 12570.

Foundation and Offices

CMC Markets was founded in London in 1989, at first as a foreign exchange broker. Now, it has 15 offices worldwide and is listed as CMCX on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The offices are located in:

• CMC UK, its main headquarters is in 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX.
• CMC Australia is located in Level 20, Tower 3, International Towers, 300 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney, NSW 2000
• CMC Canada on 100 Adelaide St W, Suite 2915, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 1S3.
• CMC China (Beijing) based at Oriental Plaza, No1 East Chang An Avenue, Unit 22, Room 1901, Tower E2. Dong Cheng District, Beijing 100738 T.
• CMC China (Shanghai) in Shanghai Tower, Z3-2 Lujiazui Financial Center, Room 3404, Floor 34. Pudong District, Shanghai.
• CMC Singapore has its office in 50 Raffles Place #14-06 Singapore Land Tower. Singapore, 048623

Money Protection

When looking for a broker it is important to know how your funds will be protected and what rights you have in case of bankruptcy or insolvency.

First of all, CMC has segregated accounts to protect clients’ money, not for their direct use or daily expenses. In this way, your money will be unaffected in the case of bankruptcy or insolvency.

According to their website “retail client money is held separately from CMC Markets’ own funds so that under property, trust and insolvency law, client money is protected and therefore unavailable to general creditors of the firm, if the firm fails”.

Another positive protection is that you may not lose more money than the amounts you deposit, therefore you will never have a negative balance. This is known as “negative balance protection”.

In the UK and Canada, regulations cover you up to £85.000 and $1.000.000 respectively. This insurance helps to cover your funds if the broker were to have such problems as bankruptcy or insolvency.

Awards

As mentioned above, CMC Market has a vast number of awards with a total count of over 180 accolades. More than 50 of these were granted to the company in the last two years, from 2018 until 2020.

This year, the company has won three awards. One of them is for the best web-based platform given to them by ForexBrokers who also honored them for offering their clients the highest number of forex pairs.

The third one was given to them by ADVFN’s International Financial Awards for offering the best spread betting and CFD educational tools.

Countries where CMC Markets is not available

CMC Markets’ platform is regulated and authorised in many different countries. With that said, there are still a few locations around the world where they do not offer services. These locations are as follows:

Account Types

CMC Markets offers a very wide range of account types. Getting started with them is really easy and the verification process is very intuitive. Moreover, they provide a very wide range of additional services which is what we’re going to disclose in this section.

Demo

CMC Markets offers a demo account with virtual money. It means you can experiment with the platform, learn how to trade or try new strategies before taking your funds to the real trading environment.

All you need while signing up is to select your country, language, add your email and choose a password. This account does not expire so if you are a beginner it is a great way to learn, and if you are an expert it might be a smart way to test a move before applying it with your actual funds.

CMC Markets CFD Account

If you are ready to start trading CMC Markets has a standard trading account called CFD Account. Even though it is a basic trading account it offers over 10,000 tradable CFD assets which include over 300 forex pairs.

There is no minimum amount established for first deposits. Another important advantage is that spreads start from 0.3 pips and no additional commission for CDFs are added there are commissions on shares beginning at 7 USD.

CMC Corporate Account

The CMC Corporate Account is aimed at satisfying institutional traders. Once you open this CFD account you may deposit any amount, since the platform does not ask for a minimum.

This account works as a Multi-Account Manager (MAM), which means that trade orders can be entered to different accounts from the same terminal. This would require a high understanding of how trading works.

CMC Corporate Account has the same spreads and commissions as the account mentioned above. It offers over 10,000 tradable CFD assets and more than 4,000 stocks.

CMC Stockbroking Account

CMC Markets offers a Stockbroking Account that is only available for Australian traders. Once you create this account there is no minimum deposit.

For active users there is a Frequent Trader Program which according to CMC’s website “provides the lowest brokerage and advanced features for high volume traders” that will help clients save money spent through commissions.

CMC Spread Betting Account

The CMC Spread Betting Account is available only for traders in the UK jurisdiction. You may bet on the spread deciding if a certain price will rise or fall.

Spreads on forex begins from 0.7 pips. This account offers 10,000 different assets.

CMC Markets Professional Account

The CMC Markets Professional Account is available in three different countries or regions. You must demonstrate you are eligible because it is for commited traders with the level of funds and experience available.

As a professional client you may even use a leverage amount of up to 500:1 on forex once you have met all the criteria required.

If you are within the EU and the UK there are three requirements and you must match at least two.

• You must have an average of 10 significant sized transactions per quarter in the past year.
• Have a financial instrument portfolio of over €500.000 or equivalent, either in your bank or your trading account.
• Significant experience in the financial services sector.

If you are registered with the Australian entity, you must meet one of the three criterias.

• Same EU and UK requirements.
• At least $AUD 2.500.000 of net assets.
• A minimum of $AUD 250.000 of incomes in the last 2 calendar years.

If you would like to open a CMC Market Professional Account in Singapore, you will need to comply with at least one of the three following requirements:

• At least $SGD 300.000 incomes in the last year.
• A minimum amount of $SGD 2.000.000 of net assets.
• A total of at least $SGD 1.000.000 of financial assets.

Deposit and Withdrawal

Account Base Currency

Being an international financial company, CMC Markets offers a wide variety of base currencies such as GBP, EUR, USD, AUD, CAD, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGD.

Please note that it is important that the base currency you choose matches the currency in your bank account or credit card. This way you will not be charged any conversion fees when you deposit or withdrawal.

Deposit

Here we will take a look at everything you need to know when making a CMC Markets deposit.

CMC Markets Minimum deposit

CMC Markets does not require minimum deposits for CFD Accounts, Corporate Accounts or Spread Betting Accounts.

Deposit Methods

CMC Markets has three different deposit methods which you can use depending on your requirements.

If you choose wire transfer it will take one business day to process the deposit. When you make your first deposit using a credit card, either Visa or Mastercard, it will usually be instant unless it is your first deposit in which case it may take a little longer.

There are also eWallets or online payment methods such as PayPal which tend to allow instant deposits.

Deposit Fees

Deposits with CMC Markets do not commonly have fees, but some may be applied in the following case scenarios:

• As mentioned above, there might be a conversion fee if your base currency does not match the currency you make a deposit with.
• It could be possible that your bank may charge a commission fee when you are using wire transfers.

Withdrawals

Here are more details on the withdrawal process with the broker when you reach that time.

Withdrawal Methods

The withdrawal methods on any CMC Markets accounts include the same methods as mentioned above on the deposit methods, that is to say, wire transfer, credit card (Visa or Mastercard), and PayPal.

Withdrawals may take from one to three days to finalize.

Withdrawal Fees

Withdrawals with CMC Markets are generally fee-free. The only exceptions here may be if your bank applies a fee on wire transfers, or you are withdrawing to an account with a non-base currency, and need to pay a conversion fee.

Trading Fees

At the moment, CMC Markets only offers floating spreads, which is the price difference between the ask and bid that alter depending on the market’s movements. The fees will depend on the changes on the market.

It is important to mention that this company does not offer zero spread trading. However, all the available accounts have forex spreads starting from 0.3 pips that do not charge further commissions.

With that said, commissions are only charged on stocks, and they begin at $7 adding a fee on the investment of 0.10%. These fees may vary depending on the market.

Overnight Fees

There are a few fees that might be charged, such as overnight fees on every asset. This is because the broker is purely a CFD provider and charges rollover fees. The mentioned fees are charged daily when the market hours close.

Rollover fees have specific and different values for every asset and pair. You can see each asset’s fee on the broker’s platform.

If you are an Islamic trader we invite you to check the following link, as you may be interested in Swap Free accounts.

Non Trading Fees

Inactivity Fees

This platform has inactivity fees for all accounts that move actual funds, that is to say, fees do not apply to the demo account.

If you have been inactive as an account holder for one calendar year, you will be charged with a monthly fee of $15. This inactivity fee will be charged until you log back in and continue using your account. This is because there must be a way to maintain the broker’s cost since it is hosting your capital.

CMC Markets reserves the right to close your account in case you do not have enough funds to cover the $15 inactivity fee.

Markets

Although CMC Markets offers over 10,000 assets, not all of them are available worldwide. This is because some of the assets may not be within some of the areas or regulations CMC Markets is under.

Forex

For the foreign exchange markets, CMC has over 330 currency pairs, including forex futures. All spreads begin from at least 0.3 pips. There are major, minor and emerging forex pairs on CMC Markets.

Commodities

There are a total of more than 110 commodities, both hard such as gold, and soft commodities such as agricultural wheat, corn, coffee, sugar and soybeans. Energies are also included in this category.

Indices

CMC Markets offers not only US, EU and AU indices, it actually has over 30, including Canada, India, Singapore, Taiwan and more.

The spreads begin at 0.9 pips, and there are no requotes or swaps charged.

Stocks

There are over 4,900 stocks from 29 different stock exchanges around the world, including shares from US, UK, EU and more.

Bonds

For bonds, CMC Markets has 50 treasuries with bonds from countries like US, EU, Japan, and more.

Cryptoassets

There are a total of 5 cryptocurrencies available for trading: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Ripple (XRP).

Countdowns

This is a spread betting concept that has over 20 instruments for short term assets. As the company’s website states, there are “competitive payouts of up to 90%”.

You have a timeframe of 30 seconds to decide if you will bet on the ascent or descent of a settlement price. Once you pick the asset and the amount you would like to invest, you may earn or lose funds depending on the price movement.

Execution, leverage and position sizing

Here is a closer look at the range of trading features you can expect to find at the broker. This includes a closer look at execution styles, accepted trading techniques, the minimum order size, and more.

Executions

CMC Markets is a DMA broker. The acronym means “direct market access”. Just as the name might imply, you may trade directly in the market accessing their prices without using an intermediary such as a dealing desk.

CMC Markets will ensure all their users the best prices available.

Leverage

CMC Markets offers up to a 500:1 leverage, but it will solely depend on the regulation area you are at, and by all means according to the asset. The maximum leverage on forex major pairs are as following:

• For the EU and UK there is a maximum leverage of 30:1.
• Australian (ASIC) based traders have a top leverage of 30:1
• For Canadian customers there is a leverage of up to 100:1.
• Singaporean clients are offered 20:1 as maximum leverage.
• A maximum leverage of 500:1 is also available for CMC Markets Professional Account. If you have any doubts about this account you may check the account section above.

Sizing

CMC Markets has a minimum trade size of 1 micro lot, in other words 0.01 standard lots. This is for forex trading and it implies that you may open positions as low as $1,000, not including leverage. If you decide to add leverage, the amount will be minimized.

Risk Management

CMC Markets is well aware of the importance of risk management for their clients, and for this reason they offer five different tools.

First, the company has both stop losses and take profits, tools that will insure you against losses and secure gains. Both support guaranteed stop, so you can pre-select your loss price, available for small mark-ups.

The third tool would be limit orders. This way you may ask CMC Markets to buy or sell when the asset you are interested in reaches a specific price.

CMC offers trailing stops as a way to safeguard your profits. You may set your loss limit at a certain percentage according to the asset you are holding. This way, if the price goes up, so does the stop-loss price.

The fifth and last risk management available are margin calls. With this, you will be warned if your equity falls below a fixed level.

Forbidden trading techniques

CMC Markets does allow scalping and hedging, and as mentioned before, spread betting is only accessible for those who have an account within the UK entity. CMC Markets does not allow algorithmic trading and the use of VPS is prohibited in the platform.

Platforms & Mobile

Platforms either on desktop or on mobiles for trading on the go, are essential when choosing a broker, and risking your funds. Let’s see what CMC Markets offers.

Charting and Trading tools

Charting and trading tools are provided on every single platform. The company has 81 chart indicators, and 24 drawing tools. On top of that, you may carry out one click trading and set orders directly from the chart. Price alerts are also available.

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 or MT4 is one of the best trading platforms in the world. This powerful trading platform has over 50 indicators and charting tools. It works with high quality encrypted communications methods between you and the servers.

You may use this platform on your phone, tablet or computer desktops, but not through webtrader. It works on Windows, androids, and iOS systems such as apple phones, tablets or macs.

CMC Markets CFD Next Generation Platform (Proprietary)

The CFD Next Generation Platform, available as a webtrader, is a proprietary platform offered by the broker which is known to be very user-friendly, and intuitive alongside providing you with a wide range of tools and features for a comprehensive trading experience.

This trading platform has all the MetaTrader features that were mentioned above, but it visually improved, and with improved ease of navigation. It works with fast execution, and also provides for a capability to manage your account including making deposits and withdrawals. If you have further questions on deposits and withdrawals, please look for the section above.

CMC Markets Stockbroking Platform (Proprietary)

CMC Markets Stockbroking Platform is another proprietary trading platform with a number of order types available. It only works as a webtrader, a web interface. You may deposit and withdraw.

This platform offers a news section where you can monitor the stock market. Also, note that even though CMC Markets Stockbroking Platform is free, it has the option to pay a $49 monthly subscription in order to access additional features.

CMC Markets Mobile Platform

CMC offers a light mobile platform that can be downloaded on smartphones and tablets, that are either android or iOS systems. You may read news and alerts directly from the platform.

You may customize your layout to suit your needs and goals. It makes the platform even more user friendly and intuitive for traders.

Special features you can find on CMC Markets

CMC Markets Active Trader Program

The CMC Markets Active Trader Program offers three different tiers: classic, active investor and premium trader. In the active trader program, you will have lower trading fees.

Additionally, you may acquire certain benefits regarding the trading platform features and additional services, such as:

• Free access to the premium stockbroking platform.
• A free stock screener to filter your equities.
• Help with tax reports.

Social Trading – Copy Trading

CMC Markets does not offer social or copy trading features at the moment. Alongside that, although many brokers might grant their clients the use of trading robots to help determine a decision in MT4 (MetaTrader 4), CMC will not. Trading robots or any feature that tries to duplicate trading positions are not permitted.

Customer Service

Languages

Even though CMC Markets is an international broker, it does not offer a vast variety of languages. It has a total of 10 different languages including English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, and a few others available.

Customer Service

Customer service at CMC Markets can be contacted in a variety of ways. You may also choose CMC Markets’ live chat, email or phone calls that include over 10 different phone numbers. This makes them very accessible and they typically provide you with a fast and professional answer to your question.

Research and Education

Research

CMC Market has an expert analysis team which includes 5 market analysts with different specialities from around the world including experts in the Asia-Pacific region, some focusing on derivative products, others in market analysis, and more.

CMC also offers daily morning news and updates about the market and its movements. Upon that, there is a customisable economic calendar to mark special dates or events that may cause a rise or fall on a certain asset. It is thought to help make trading decisions.

Education

A very important aspect on this broker platform is their educational section. In this category they have webinars, training on technical indicators, and platform and trading tutorials. They also offer a range of training opportunities if you are interested in shares, crypto, and getting to know more about CFDs.

CMC also has a trading glossary available on their site. You may also visit or subscribe to their Youtube channel and find even more educational trading videos.

FAQs

Is CMC Markets regulated?

Yes, CMC is regulated by several regulatory bodies such as the following: FCA (173730), MAS (200605050E), ASIC (238054), IIROC (12570), FMA (FSP41187).

What is the minimum deposit for CMC Markets?

The CMC Markets trading platform does not require minimum deposits.

How long does it take to withdraw from CMC Markets?

Withdrawals will vary and take from 1 to 3 days. The fastest withdrawal method would be via credit card.

Is CMC Markets a MT4 broker?

Yes, CMC Markets offers MetaTrader 4, CMC Markets CFD platforms and CMC Markets Stockbroking platform.

Does CMC Markets accept PayPal?

Yes, CMC Markets welcomes PayPal customers for both deposits and withdrawals.