Admiral Markets Broker Review

Overall, Admirals’ trading costs and minimum deposit requirements are lower than other similar brokers, and it offers trading on a wide range of assets, making it appealing to both beginners and experienced traders alike.

Admirals offers a limited number of funding options compared to most other brokers.  Additionally, deposit and withdrawal fees are high for currencies other than those supported by Admirals, and its processing times are slow.  

As a well-regulated broker, Admirals does not process payments to third parties. All withdrawal requests from a trading account must go to a bank account or a source in the trader’s name. 

Deposits can be made via credit cards/debit cards, e-wallets (Skrill and Neteller), and bank transfers. Note that Indian traders can only deposit funds via bank transfer and credit cards or debit cards.  Credit cards/debit cards are processed instantly, but deposits via wire transfer can take 3 bank days to reflect. No commissions are charged on deposits or withdrawals, but should the base currency of a client’s trading account differ from the base currency of the transferred funds, the amount transferred will be converted to the base currency of the client’s trading account, and a 0.3% fee will be charged.   

Withdrawals are only available via wire transfer, with a processing time of 1-3 business days. A fee of 3 USD (or equivalent) is charged for domestic transfers and up to 20 USD for international transfers. See below for details:

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Overall, the non-trading fees associated with deposits and withdrawals at Admirals, especially when trading in currencies other than those supported by the company are high.  Additionally, Admirals processing times are slower than other similar online brokers, and it offers a limited number of funding methods for Indian traders.  

Admirals’ Base Currencies (Trading Account Currencies)

Admirals offers a limited number of trading account currencies through its JSC subsidiary, including JOD, AED, USD, and EUR. Indian traders will be disappointed that it does not offer accounts denominated in INR.  

Deposits to trading accounts can be made in most national currencies, which are subsequently converted into JOD, USD, EUR, AED, or other applicable currencies. However, Admirals does not support accounts denominated in INR, which means that Indian traders will have to pay a 0.3% conversion fee on all deposits and withdrawals.  Conversion fees can make trading expensive, and affect profitability.

In order to protect your capital from currency fluctuation, you can have multiple trading accounts in different currencies at the same time. This gives traders an opportunity to transfer funds from one account to another through a convenient internal transfer straight from the Trader’s Room (available on Admirals’ mobile app).

Overall, Admirals offers a limited number of trading currencies compared to most other brokers through the JSC subsidiary, but it allows multiple trading accounts in different currencies.  

Admirals’ trading platforms are average compared to other brokers.

Admirals offer full support for Metatrader 4 and Metatrder 5 in addition to its own customised plugin – the Metatrader Supreme Edition (which will be discussed in detail under trading tools). 

The advantage of brokers offering third-party platforms such as MT4 and MT5 is that traders can take their own customised versions with them should they decide to migrate to another broker.  Additionally, Admirals offers the Metatrader Supreme Edition which plugs into both platforms.   However, these platforms are not as beginner-friendly as the proprietary platforms on offer at other brokers.  See below for more details.  

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is still undoubtedly the world’s most popular trading platform for forex traders due to its ease of use, feature-rich environment, and automated trading ability. MT4 is available in over 31 languages.

 Features of MT4 include: 

• A built-in library of more than 50 indicators and tools to streamline the analysis process
• An impressive array of 24 analytical tools, available in nine timeframes for each financial instrument.
• Three chart types
• One-click Trading
• Algorithmic trading, which allows any trading strategy to be formalised and implemented as an Expert Advisor. 
• Customisable alerts
• Access to MetaTrader market and MQL4 community. 

While MT4 has great customizability, the platform feels outdated, and some of the features may be hard to find.  In addition, only the basic orders are available, including Market, Limit, Stop, and Trailing Stop.  MT4 is available on PC and Mac.

MetaTrader 5

The MT5 trading platform is being adopted by more Forex brokers all the time.  It has a more modern interface, allows for an unlimited number of charts to be used, shows Depth of Market, and has a built-in Economic Calendar. It also has a larger number of pending order types than MT4 and features an embedded chat system. The MQL5 scripting language is more efficient than its precursor, and MT5 has more advanced charting tools than MT4. 

Features include:

• 38+ preinstalled technical indicators
• 44 analytical charting tools
• 21 timeframes
• Additional pending order types
• Detachable charts

MT5 is also available on PC and Mac.

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Broker

Platform Choice

Copy Trading

Platforms

Admirals

4.5/ 5

Yes

MT4

MT5

MT Supreme

Axi

4/ 5

Yes

MT4

IronFX

4/ 5

Yes

MT4

Overall, Admirals’ platform support is about average when compared to other brokers, but it offers its own customised trading tools which integrate seamlessly with MT4 and MT5.

Admirals’ Mobile Apps

Admirals’ mobile trading platforms are average when compared to other similar brokers

Both trading platforms are available on both Android and iOS mobile devices and tablets. Beginner traders should be aware that there is some loss in functionality when compared to the desktop trading platforms, including reduced timeframes and fewer charting options.  In addition, spotty connections can reduce the overall trading experience. Generally, it is better to be at your desktop to conduct day-to-day trading and use a mobile device to keep an eye on the markets or close open positions.

The Admirals MT4 and MT5 apps allow traders to work from anywhere, with functionality to close and modify existing orders, calculate profit/loss in real-time and tick chart trading to further assists traders while on the move.

Overall, Admirals’ mobile trading support is about average when compared to other brokers, with no additional support or apps apart from the trading platform’s own mobile applications.

Admirals trading tools are superior compared to those offered by other similar brokers.  The MetaTrader Supreme Edition is one of the best MetaTrader plugins on the market.  Integrated into the Metatrader Supreme Edition is Trading Central and a number of other useful tools.  It also offers a VPS service.  

Admirals has partnered with Trading Central to integrate its indicators (Forex Featured Ideas and Technical Insight) into the MetaTrader Supreme Edition. These two highly customisable tools provide pattern recognition and technical analysis for almost all financial instruments.  A VPS service is also offered to clients who maintain an equity amount of 5000 EUR (or equivalent) in their trading accounts. 

Metatrader Supreme Edition

Trading Central

A third-party tool, Trading Central’s professional analysts use the most advanced technical analysis tools in the industry to gather the most comprehensive and in-depth market information. This tool essentially supports traders without the technical know-how in making trading decisions. This dynamic product suite is available to traders through the MetaTrader Supreme Edition.  Trading Central is considered one of the best trading tools in the industry, and Admirals does well to offer this tool to its clients.

Global Opinion Toolset

Also included in the MetaTrader Supreme Edition is the Global Opinion toolset. These tools scan and contextualise millions of financial news stories and social media posts daily, giving traders a dynamic view of market sentiment. They can drastically reduce the length of time traders need to spend on daily research by flagging-up the best assets to trade and warning of changes in the market that may impact trade success.

Mini-Terminal

Additionally, a new mini-terminal facilitates trade management by making commonly-used trading features more accessible than in the native version of the software. A mini-chart feature also lets traders see multiple time frames and chart types in a single chart.

An additional Trade Terminal feature helps traders manage multiple orders concurrently, using the same advanced trade management features of the mini-terminal.

Tick Chart Trader

Tick Chart Trader allows clients to trade tick charts fast and accurately. An additional Indicator Package with the latest indicator technology delivers more chart information and trading signals within the trading tool.

Trading Simulator

Finally, a trading simulator is available to backtest strategies on historical price data. Until this feature was conceived, traders were limited to testing strategies with a demo account in real-time. The trading simulator enables traders to test multiple strategies on the same data set to find the optimal strategy for different market situations.

VPS

Admirals offers a VPS (Virtual Private Server) service for traders who deposit more than 5000 EUR in their trading accounts. VPS hosting allows traders to run automated algorithmic strategies, including expert advisors 24 hours a day 7 days a week on a virtual machine. VPS services have the advantage of never suffering connectivity issues and have extremely low latency due to their proximity to major international exchanges. 

Overall, Admirals offers a much more comprehensive set of trading tools than is available at other similar brokers.

The choice of financial assets offered by Admirals is wider than other similar brokers. 

Admirals’ range of financial instruments for CFD trading, includes Forex, shares, commodities, bonds, ETFs, cryptos, and indices.

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• Forex: Admirals has over 50 currency pairs available for trading which is around the industry average.  These include majors (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY), minors (NZD/CAD, EUR/JPY, and USD/ZAR), and exotics. The leverage on Forex pairs is up to 500:1.
• Share CFDs: Admirals offers 3288 share CFDs, which is more numerous than other large international brokers.  The selection available includes some of the major US, UK, and European Exchanges. Leverage on share CFDs is up to 10:1.  
• Indices: There are 43 indices available for trading at Admirals, which is more than is available at other similar brokers. The most popular indices are those that combine the shares of some of the largest and globally acknowledged companies.  Leverage is up to 1:200 on indices.  
• Commodities: Admirals offers trading on 28 commodities, which is a much broader range than is commonly available at other brokers.  Most other brokers offer between 5 and 10 commodities.  Commodities include metals such as gold and silver, energies such as oil, and softs such as sugar, cocoa, and cotton. The leverage is up to 1:50 on commodities.
• Bonds: Like other brokers, Admirals offers trading on two bonds, namely the 10-year Germany Bund Futures CFD and the 10-year US Treasury Note Futures CFD.  Leverage on these bonds is up to 1:200.
• ETFs: Admirals offers trading on 375 ETFs, which is a wider range than is offered by other similar brokers.  Trading is up to 1:200 on ETFs. 
• Cryptocurrencies: Cryptocurrency trading is only offered under the Admirals’ subsidiaries that are regulated by CySEC and ASIC. Leverage on these pairs is up to 1:10, long and short positions are available, and spreads are variable.  Spreads are wider than for Forex, but this in line with industry norms. As of this writing, 22 cryptocurrency pairs (including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple) with Fiat currencies are offered, and 10 cryptocurrency cross pairs.

Overall, Admirals offers a much broader range of tradable instruments than other brokers and really outshines its competitors in its commodity, share CFD, and cryptocurrency offerings. 

Admirals for Beginners

Admirals has invested heavily in helping new traders find their feet, offering an extensive library of educational articles, tutorials, and webinars. For clients looking for active support, the MetaTrader Supreme Edition provides Trading Central chart analysis and analyst recommendations.  

Educational Material

Admirals offers an excellent educational repository that is suited to traders of all experience levels.

The educational material available through Admirals is extensive and varied. Split into different sections, Admirals offers a structured course, a knowledge base, an overview of risk management, and frequent webinars.

Admirals also provides a free, structured Forex and CFD trading course called Forex 101, designed to help beginners learn how to trade. It is a collection of nine online lessons split into beginner, intermediate and advanced stages, and all lessons are taught by professional traders. The course covers everything from setting up MT4 to managing risk and is an excellent resource for new traders.

The articles and tutorials section covers Forex Basics, Forex Analysis, Forex Strategy, Forex Indicators, Trading Psychology, Trading Software, Automated Trading, and Cryptocurrencies. This section is best used as a knowledge base or as an additional resource once the Forex 101 course has been completed. A separate glossary is on hand to help beginners with new terminology.

The risk management section covers best practices, an introduction to leverage and leverage effect, and how rapidly moving markets can create gaps in charts.