1 STAR - Excessive Spreads and Lack of Pricing Clarity
I have been testing a certain trading account and faced serious concerns that traders should be aware of:
1. Profit values inexplicably changed after trades closed.
I performed several test trades, opening and closing positions quickly to assess true costs. Initially, I noted losses of $0.60-0.65 per micro lot on a specific pair. However, upon reviewing my trade history later, some of these profit/loss values had altered without any explanation, notification, or detailed breakdown of changes. This renders it impossible to verify your trading costs or trust the final profit and loss figures.
2. Alarmingly wide spreads on the "Raw" account, even during standard trading hours.
Despite being on a "Raw Spread" account (advertised as institutional-grade pricing), I encountered spreads of 10-11+ pips during normal trading hours on a Thursday (around 00:30-01:04 GMT, coinciding with the market open).
To illustrate: Opening and immediately closing a micro lot = $0.65 loss
On a standard lot, that results in $65 per round trip just in spread costs.
For a typical 1:1 risk/reward strategy with a 60% win rate, a profit target of 70+ pips is required just to break even. This is not "raw" pricing; it resembles retail markup disguised as institutional access.
3. "Raw" account offers little difference from Classic.
When comparing costs: Classic account: ~10-11 pip all-in spread, no commission.
Raw account: ~10-11 pip spread PLUS $0.04 commission per micro lot. The Raw account provided virtually no advantage despite the commission fees, undermining the purpose of a "Raw Spread" account tier.
4. Complete lack of transparency on execution costs.
The service offers no breakdown of: Actual spread at execution time.
Reasons for post-trade profit value changes.
Itemization of fees and adjustments.
Any audit trail for cost verification. For algorithmic or systematic traders requiring precise cost accounting, this is untenable.
What reputable brokers provide (e.g., others in the industry): Full fee transparency - every cost itemized.
Spreads of 1-3 pips during active trading hours.
Regulated oversight - cannot arbitrarily alter your P&L.
Comprehensive audit trail of all transactions.
Legal obligation to ensure best execution. The numbers speak for themselves:
With the observed costs, a strategy targeting a specific pair during active hours requires significant profit targets just to offset transaction costs. In contrast, properly regulated brokers offer 3-5x tighter spreads during the same hours.
In summary: If you're trading during specific hours or employing any systematic strategy where costs are crucial, these spread levels will erode your advantage. The combination of inflated spreads (even on "Raw" accounts), inexplicable post-trade P&L changes, and lack of transparency makes this service unsuitable for serious traders.
Consider switching to a regulated broker where you can actually verify your charges.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
