ActivTrades review: What you need to know before signing up.

ActivTrades provides CFDs for exposure to commodities, shares, indices, ETFs, bonds, and spread betting. It also offers access to Forex (currency market) and cryptocurrencies. The broker’s CFD offering is therefore very comprehensive.

Here is a list of the financial instruments offered by ActivTrades:

• Shares:
  660 shares
• Crypto:
  50 cryptos
• Forex:
  50 pairs
• CFDs:
  1000 CFDs
• ETFs:
  400 ETFs

ActivTrades offers over 1000 CFDs across seven asset classes (Forex, shares, indices, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, commodities, and bonds). These CFDs come with no stamp duty, custody, or account management fees. Spreads vary depending on the underlying asset and quantity. For an index like the SP500, the average spread is around 0.23. A CFD share like Apple costs $0.02 per share with a minimum of $1.

An overview of the spreads on some major instruments at ActivTrades:

• Spread EUR/USD:
  0.5 pip
• Spread EUR/GBP:
  1.4 pip
• Spread GBP/USD:
  1.0 pip
• Spread USD/CHF:
  1 pip

• Spread CAC40:
  0.45 pip
• Spread STOXX50:
  0.9 pip
• Spread FTSE100:
  0.45 pip
• Spread SP500:
  0.2 pip

Share and ETF brokerage fees are variable. For European shares, fees are 0.05% of the transaction (minimum £1), or 0.01% (minimum £5), depending on the level chosen when opening an account. ETFs have swaps (interest charges for holding) that are variable, generally around 2.426 for short positions and -8.46 for long positions.

• Commission per share:
  0.4
• Fee per share:
  0.4
• Direct share purchase:
  0.4
• CFDs on shares:
  Oui

• Number of ETFs:
  400
• Minimum ETF spread:
  0.1
• CFDs on ETFs:
  Oui
• Direct ETF purchase:
  Non

For Forex, ActivTrades advertises very competitive spreads starting from 0.5 pip. For the major pair EUR/USD, the spread acts as the commission and is on average 0.8 pips during peak hours. There are also overnight interest charges, or swaps, around 0.20 for short positions and -0.77 for long positions. Fees are in line with most other brokers and vary depending on the currency pair. ActivTrades is very transparent about its various fees, which you can review on their summary page.
For cryptocurrencies, ActivTrades offers the following instruments: Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, Doge, Polkadot, EOS, Ethereum, ChainLink, Litecoin, Neo, Stellar, and Ripple. For Bitcoin, the current spread is 95 with a target spread of 55, a short swap of 5, and a long swap of -18.

• Spread EUR/USD:
  0.5
• Spread EUR/GBP:
  1.4
• Spread EUR/CHF:
  1.0
• Spread USD/CAD:
  1

• Number of cryptos:
  50
• Minimum crypto spread:
  n/a
• CFDs on crypto:
  Oui
• Direct crypto purchase:
  Non

ActivTrader is ActivTrades’ in-house platform. It is user-friendly and offers a wealth of charting, indicators, and features. It also integrates with TradingView for its charting interface. MetaTrader 4 and 5 need little introduction, as they are popular platforms among Forex traders. They are customisable trading stations with over 50 technical indicators, charts for nine different timeframes, 6–8 order types, and the possibility of automated trading. Note that MetaTrader 4 does not include CFDs on shares.

ActivTrader supports a mobile version for iOS or Android, with a clean design but numerous features. MetaTrader 4 and 5 also include mobile apps that combine style and performance. These apps provide advanced charts and all the functions serious traders expect, and they receive positive reviews from users.

ActivTrades is an international broker and therefore holds multiple regulatory licences. It is regulated by the FCA (UK), CSSF (Luxembourg), SCB (Bahamas), CMVM (Italy), BACEN (Brazil), and CMVM (Portugal). ActivTrades has also received numerous awards for its services. Its longstanding presence in the market further enhances confidence.