If you have been researching about the best global forex brokers, then it is highly likely that you have stumbled upon AvaTrade. This Forex broker is among the most popular especially in the UK and Asia.

Previously known as AvaFX, AvaTrade was founded in 2016 in Dublin, Ireland and has its headquarters there. The broker is regulated in the EU, Britain, Australia, Japan, and South Africa.

The regulators include the Central Bank of Ireland, Australian Securities & Investment Commission, Japan Financial Services Authority and Financial Services Board.

AvaTrade provides forex brokers with leverages of up to 1:400. The leverages for CFDs and other instruments are dependent on the client’s profile and needs. The leverage for retail traders is 30:1, which is in line with the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA). These conditions must be met to be allowed to trade with high leverage.

• Have sufficient trading activity in the last 12 months.
• Have relevant experience in the financial sector.
• Have Financial Instrument Portfolio of over €500,000.

The minimum amount required to open a trading account with AvaTrade is $100. Traders with deposits of 100,000 EUR/GBP and above enjoy special trading terms.

If your deposits meet Ava Select requirements of over 100,000 EUR, GBP or AUD equivalent, you can enjoy Ava Select tailored trading terms.

AvaTrade provides floating spreads as low as 0.9 pips for more than 60 Forex pairs. The advantage of using a floating spread is that the gap between the Bid and Ask price is continuously updated in real time to reflect the best quote in the market.

AvaTrade has some of the best liquidity providers in the market, and therefore its spreads are among the most competitive.

For traders with a deposit of $15,000 and above, AvaTrade provides bonuses of up to 30% of the deposited amount.

The services provided by this broker include Forex trading, CFD trading (stock, ETFs, Commodities, Bonds, and market Indices) derivatives trading and cryptocurrency trading.

AvaTrade is regulated in several countries to include Ireland, Australia, Japan and South Africa. In Ireland, it is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (Reference No.: C53877) in accordance with MiFid requirements while in Australia it is regulated by the Australian Securities Investment Commission (License No.: 406684).

The Japan regulator is the Financial Services Agency (Licence no -1662) and the Financial Services Futures Association (Licence no – 1574) while in South Africa it is regulated by the Financial Services Board (Licence FSP Number -45984).

AvaTrade provides both automated and manual trading platforms which include:

• AvaTRadeGo, an app for both android and ios
• DupliTrade, a social copy trading platform
• Mql5 signals service
• ZuluTrade.
• AvaOptions.
• AvaTrade Mac.
• Metatrader 4.

Platforms such as ZuluTrade utilize algorithms to conduct market analyses and automatically place trades accordingly. The AvaTradeGo is designed to be compatible with most Android and IoS systems to allow smooth mobile trading. This enables the trader to access the markets and place trades without having to log into their personal computers.

The DupliTrade platform allows traders to copy trades from guru traders and therefore maximize their profits.

Most of Ava Trader trading platforms are mobile friendly and provide support for both desktop and mobile devices. Metatrder4 is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices meaning that you can access this platform regardless of the type of device you are using.

AvaTrade offers two pricing methods namely fixed spreads and floating spreads. For the fixed spreads, the EUR/USD lists as low as 1.9 pips while for the floating spread, the rate can be as low as 0.7 pips. The average spread for EUR/USD pair for a standard account is 1.90.

Payment methods accepted in AvaTrade include wire transfers, Mastercard, Visa, Maestro, Ava debit card (specifically for traders in AvaTrade), and e-wallets such as PayPal, Neteller, webmoney and MoneyBookers.

The minimum deposit is $100 with traders being encouraged to deposit more than $500 to get access to a technical analysis tool known as AutoChartist. Money transfers can take up to a maximum of five days.

• Wire transfers.
• Master card and Visa.
• Maestro
• Ava debit card.
• E-wallets such as PayPal and Neteller.

AvaTrade customer support is available 24 hours a day five days a week, Monday through Friday. The methods of reaching out to the customer care include live chat, phone, email and social media. The broker also has physical offices in over 11 countries, open during working hours, five days a week. Services are available in over 12 languages.

Apart from the live support, customers can check if their questions are answered in the FAQ section on the AvaTrade Website. Other supportive tools provided by this broker include a trading calculator, an economic calendar, info on economic indicators, market news feed, auto chartists among others.

With all these support features being bundled together and made accessible by traders of all levels of expertise, little room is left for misinformation and delays in resolving customer issues.

• 24/5 support.
• Live chat, phone, email and social media.
• Physical offices.
• Trading calculator.
• Auto chartists.

AvaTrade proves its accommodativeness to both new or inexperienced traders and experienced traders by providing a beginner education centre and a sharp trader education centre for the experienced.

Also provided are live webinars, learning materials such as videos, ebooks, training articles and economic indicators. These and other resources enable traders from all levels to find their way through the platform and adapt quickly.

• Beginner education centre.
• Sharp trader education centre.
• Live Webinars.
• Videos, books, training articles.
• Economic Indicators

On top of the general services offered by other brokers, AvaTrade provides spread betting, a feature that carries certain tax efficiencies for UK traders, compared to CFDs.

Also, the broker has fully embraced cryptocurrencies, offering at least 10 of the most-traded coins. These cryptos are paired with top fiat currencies such as the USD and JPY.

Another thing worth noting is that the broker provides weekend trading, a thing that is not common with most brokers. It also provides higher limits on the maximum position sizes that can be established and has low margin requirements.

• Spread betting.
• Robust crypto trading.
• Weekend trading.
• Higher limits on maximum position sizes.
• Low margin requirements.

AvaTrade main business includes forex, derivatives and CFD trading. The CFD trading involves cryptocurrencies, market Indices, ETFs, Single stock securities, bonds, and hard and soft commodities including metals.

The broker offers cutting-edge trading platforms such as AviTradeGo, metatrader4, AvaOptions, and others to enhance traders' experience. Its activities are regulated by various authorities in different countries to ensure that their traders' money is protected.

Even though AvaTrade is not without flaws, it can be considered as one of the best in the market today and is, therefore, worth a try. However, if you are a new trader, we recommend that you open a demo account first to understand how the AvaTrade platforms work.