LMFX Review

They are relatively new name to the world of currency trading, however we truly believe that LMFX is destined for great things. They are one of the top brokers from those that we tested as an offshore entity. They have a fantastic support team that is accessible, fast response times on all manner of queries, and are heavily “customer-experience” focused. This is exactly the kind of broker that gives offshore brokers a good name – and one that we had no hesitation in recommending to you. They are a great example of how to “do it right”.

The broker opened their doors to traders in 2015, and have slowly been working with their customers to build a loyal following. They offer advanced institutional and retail trading for traders of all levels. Traders are allowed multiple accounts with both Real-Money and Demo Accounts, and are provided with fantastic support. LMFX even offers Islamic Accounts for traders of the Islamic faith, simply ask your account manager for more information on this when registering for your free account.

Licensing & Regulation

LMFX is owned/operated by Global Trade Partners Ltd, a company incorporated and governed by the laws of the Republic of Macedonia. They have registered head offices at 28 Koco Racin Blvd, 1000 Skopje, Macedonia and their support services are located from offices in Bulgaria. They operate as an offshore broker, and as an offshore broker, traders from ALL REGIONS are welcomed including those located in USA. The only exclusions are for traders located in Macedonia and Bulgaria due to the company having operations there.

One of our foremost concerns with offshore brokers has always been the segregation of operational and trader funds, and another is limited banking options. LMFX put us at ease here, as they are highly focused on the security of client funds and segregate all operational/client funds from point of deposit to withdrawal. They use traditional and e-banking institutions such as Skrill (formerly MoneyBookers), and Neteller – two of the most reputable eWallets available at the time of writing this review (June 2016). Two of the largest eWallets in the world. They do not work with any brands that will tarnish their own; another great indicator of LMFX’s reputation.

LMFX’s own legal documentation is available freely online, and openly states that in the HIGHLY UNLIKELY event that LMFX stops operations, client funds will be returned immediately. They also reassure us that the traditional and e-banking institutions they partner with, will always be well-established and under no risk of closure. Furthermore, “The Company spreads any default risk by holding several accounts across different organizations and countries thereby diversifying any risk not only at the organizational level but also at the country level” (source: LMFX Security of Funds – Legal Document).

Trading Platform and Accounts

LMFX provides traders with access to both Real and Demo accounts, and is truly suited to traders of all levels (a term that gets used a lot, but is definitely relevant here). If you want multi-accounts of either, that’s not a problem. It’s as straightforward as registering your free account the first time, and your account manager/support are available to guide you through the process if you have any issues.

Demo Accounts are available to everyone, and LMFX allows up to three demo accounts per trader. This lets you test their platform and execution times, or allows less experienced traders a way to practise trading with zero risk. You are given up to $100,000.00 USD in demo funds per demo account, but if you require more, LMFX uniquely offers traders the opportunity to re-load demo funds. It’s as easy as emailing [email protected] and making a request. There is no hard sell here, and this makes the broker even more appealing.

There are four types of Real-Money Trading accounts offered at LMFX. These are called the Premium, Zero, Fixed and PAMM accounts.

• Premium: Premium accounts are setup for retail FX traders and provides a lot of flexibility. This account allows you to trade 0.01pip micro-lots, up to 60 lots in a single trade and a leverage of up to 1000:1.
• Zero: This is the low cost LMFX Zero-Spread account, that allows you to trade on Interbank spreads. The account also boasts NO Markups, and Tight Spreads (starting from 0.0 pips). You can trade up to 100 lots in a single trade and it allows a leverage of 1000:1.
• Fixed: This account is perfect for traders that want to trade with fixed spreads. This account provides you with greater control and accuracy for calculating positions. It also allows you to trade up to 75 lots in a single trade and a leverage of 400:1.
• PAMM: also known as, “Percentage Allocation Money Management”. If you don’t have the skill, time or the experience to trade, (or you just prefer to have all the hard work done for you) – a PAMM account allows traders the ability to use professional money managers to help them profit from trading. This requires you to sign over power of attorney to your money manager. Your risk and rewards can be high. NB: Please be aware of the level of risk whenever you sign over power of attorney for management of your funds.

Once past the simple registration process (which includes email verification, but only takes minutes), you will enter the client area of their online client area. This provides you with access to the multiple platforms offered by LMFX:

• WebTrader: This is the browser based trading platform offered by LMFX. The user interface of their clean website is the common theme here, and provides a highly intuitive web-based trading platform. This is recommended for new traders, or those using an Apple desktop device, and don’t wish to download the PlayOnMac (Wine) emulator for MT4.
• MetaTrader 4 (MT4): This platform is the industry standard for currency trading, and requires no introduction. This platform must be downloaded and installed locally on your desktop device. Windows users can simply install and begin using it, but Apple desktop users will need to download the PlayOnMac (Wine) emulator for MT4. If you’re unfamiliar with this, don’t worry – LMFX offer detailed instructions. Pro Tip – If you are a high volume trader, or trade from an area with limited broadband capability, take advantage of the LMFX FREE VPS (Virtual Private Server) offering and install your MT4 terminal there. This will provide the most stable environment for your trading platform and only had 1 millisecond latency between live and VPS at the time of testing.
• MetaTrader 4 Mobile Trading (IOS & Android): Trading on mobile is more popular than ever. As LMFX use the MT4 platform, they do not require a proprietary mobile app. Instead, they offer us the tested and proved MT4 Mobile Trader platform. As you know, or probably guessed – like the MT4 terminal, the MT4 Mobile Trader sets the industry standard on mobile currency trading, and is the basis of most proprietary apps. We couldn’t be happier with this offering.

Support Services

We have struggled to find fault or issue with LMFX, and their support function is no different. In fact, I would go so far as to state that this is the standout feature of the broker. They offer incredible support. This is rather surprising for a broker that only launched a year ago, as (sadly) most new brokers tend to focus more on acquiring new traders than supporting them. LMFX operate in a totally different style, more comparable to the larger, more established brokers such as AvaTrade or XM. The client experience is key, and this is the reason we believe the broker will go on to become a formidable force in the future.

The support team is highly capable and available via email, phone, or the livechat feature on the broker website. A note, LMFX use a client communication portal called Queelo. The livechat feature is an option within this area. We state this as some traders may find the interface confusing and use the messaging area mistakenly for a chat function, or be unable to find it. Once you access the interface, the chat function is one of the options on the navigation menu located to the left of the main portal welcome screen.

The support team works 24hrs a day, 5 days a week (Monday to Friday). They do not work on weekends, but do offer prompt email responses upon their return, to any enquiries submitted throughout the weekend. Email responses on weekdays average 4=four hours, but we found the majority of emails were replied to within one hour. No issue was too big, no problem too small – they listened and actioned any issues quickly and efficiently.

This is the aforementioned team in Bulgaria, but English speaking traders need not worry, the team’s ability to assist, communicate and respond promptly were surprisingly efficient. Support is also offered in Russian, Spanish and Arabic, and we found no issues here either. We highly doubt you would have any issues with this support team.

Banking Options

You can use your local currency to make deposits, via Credit/Debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay or Wire Transfer, but LMFX will only provide trading accounts in USD and EUR. A leverage between 250:1 to 1000:1 is available (depending on account type).

The minimum first deposit amount is €/$50, and the redeposit minimum is €/$25. There is no limit set by LMFX for maximum deposits, however their Credit/Debit cards deposits are limited to $10,000 within a 24hr period. Withdrawals can be requested via the LMFXConnect Wallet (their payment area). The minimum withdrawal amount is €/$10, and there is no charges for this. All withdrawal requests made before 10am (GMT+3) will be processed on the same day. As always, we urge you to send your ID verification in at the time of opening your account, so as to avoid delays during withdrawal.

A number of bonuses are also offered, such as the 100% initial deposit match bonus. This is valid on all deposits over $100, and up to a limit of $30,000. The trading requirement to withdraw bonus funds is equivalent to the bonus amount awarded/2 = number of lots to be traded. For example, a deposit of $100 will get another $100 in bonus funds. 100 (bonus funds) divided by 2 = 50 (the number of lots to be traded before bonus funds can be withdrawn). Another bonus is the aptly named redeposit offer, the “Phoenix Bonus”, with the catchy tag line “Helping you Rise Again”. This is a 15% “recovery bonus” that is automatically applied to your account on redeposits (however small that redeposit amount may be).

Why Trade at LMFX?

LMFX offers a variety of trading accounts suitable for traders of all levels and requirements. Their demo account has no expiry time, and is offered with $100,000.00 in reloadable demo funds – fantastic for those traders that wish to practise. If that wasn’t attractive enough, their “Learn and Earn” promotion is tied to the performance of the demo accounts and the highest performing demo traders with real cash each month (1st place $1000, 2nd place $500, 3rd place $250).

Their use of proven platforms such MT4 and the FREE VPS feature, along with the excellent support and features such as the Trading Calendar, Market Analysis and video tutorials add to the experience. As do the trading tools, which include the Fibonacci, Pivot Points, Pip Value and Risk Percentage calculators. Tight spread and fast executions are further reasons we recommend this broker. In fact, we are pleased to give LMFX a full 5-star rating, and the we seal of approval.