AvaTrade Review

This is thanks to their easy-to-use website, as well as their top reputation within the forex world.

While their investment options aren’t the most comprehensive on the web, they’ll suit the vast majority of traders, and they offer a large number of trading platforms for you to choose from.

In this AvaTrade review, I’m going to give you an in-depth look at what the brokerage has to offer.

I’ll kick things off with a bit of a closer look at who AvaTrade are.

Let’s kick things off with a look at who AvaTrade, and where they operate from.

AvaTrade review was last updated in May 2020. Author – Jonathan Mann.

About AvaTrade

AvaTrade was established in 2006 and it’s part of the AVA Group of companies.

Today, it’s one of the world’s largest online brokerages and has offices all over the world.

Their main bases are in Japan, Australia, Ireland and the British Virgin Islands.

The site accepts clients from all over the world and is heavily regulated.

This is something I’ll cover in more depth later on in this AvaTrade review.

They recently partnered with British Premier League football team Manchester City.

This underlines the company’s reputation and shows they’re a true marker leader in the online forex/CFD world.

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Opening an Account

I found the account creation process at AvaTrade simple, hassle-free, and straightforward.

They accept customers from virtually all countries, although there are some notable exceptions. These include the United States, Belgium, Iran and Israel.

There are three main types of account offered at AvaTrade, and these differ slightly to other trading platforms.

I’ll talk briefly about these below:

Standard Account: The Standard Account is the account that the vast majority of new traders will be opening.

It’s an account that’s owned and operated by an individual.

Corporate Account: A Corporate Account is one that’s owned and operated by a legal entity. A company, for example.

Islamic Account: AvaTrade is one of the few online trading platforms to offer an Islamic account. This is a swap-free account, which means that it does not charge swaps on the account at all.

You can also request that AvaTrade open you a professional account.

However, you’ll need to meet a few criteria, the biggest of which being that you need to hold significant experience working within the financial sector and have a portfolio of at least $500,000 in value.

The main benefit of a professional account is that the leverage is higher than the Standard Account.

Once you’ve selected the type of account you’d like to open, it’s simply a case of entering a few personal bits of information and completing the sign-up process.

It’s fairly straightforward, and their FAQ section, which I’ll talk about more later in this AvaTrade review, gives you a comprehensive breakdown of how the account creation process works, should you run into any problems.

I also really like how AvaTrade has built in a social sign-up option.

This lets you skip the manual filling out of your personal information by using your Facebook or Google account.

This pre-populates much of the information required, saving you some time.

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How Long Does the Account Creation Process Take?

Signing up for an account at AvaTrade takes just a few minutes, but it’s the account verification step that will likely take a day or two. I’ll cover this in just a moment.

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What’s the Minimum Deposit?

The minimum deposit amount for most account types is just $100.

I feel this is a fair amount, and it makes joining AvaTrade viable for the vast majority of traders.

Of course, if you’re opening a Professional Account the minimum deposit is going to be much higher, although they don’t publicly state the minimum deposit for this type of account.

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Can AvaTrade Be Trusted?

One of the things I stress is that you must choose a forex/CFD brokerage that’s trustworthy.

In fact, it’s one of the main reasons why I look so closely at the regulation surrounding a trading platform.

It’s all too common for firms to operate out of some shady jurisdiction, and in doing so you have virtually no protection as a trader, should you want to withdraw your funds and run into problems.

AvaTrade is one of the most regulated trading platforms I’ve come across, and it’s evident that they have one of the strongest reputations in the industry.

In Europe, for example, they’re regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, a very well-respected financial regulator.

For Australian traders, AvaTrade is regulated by the ASIC, and in Japan they are licensed by the FSA and the FFA.

They are even regulated in South Africa by the FSB. It’s clear they operate in regulated jurisdictions all over the world, and a quick web search showed me they have a very low complaints volume.

When it comes to keeping your personal details and sensitive information safe, AvaTrade uses state-of-the-art encryption to ensure that all information stored in their database is protected.

This means that even if third-party hackers were to get into the site’s database, they would be unable to view any of your personal details.

I did all my usual security checks with AvaTrade and found they tick all of the boxes, showing that they offer a safe and secure way to trade.

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Research and Assistance

AvaTrade offers a fantastic variety of educational tools, and these are designed to be used by both novice and experienced traders.

However, these educational tools are located in a variety of different places, and some are provided directly from AvaTrade while others are available through third-party clients like WebTrader and MetaTrader.

One of my favourite educational tools available is their “Trading Ideas’ section.

This provides you with relevant, up-to-date trading ideas, all of which have been developed based on complex technical software.

They’re found within the “Trading Central” module, and they give you an indication of potential trades to make.

There’s also a great selection of charting tools. These charts update in real time and give you a good indication of what’s going on in the markets.

Real time news feeds also help you understand why these charts are changing, so you can view what’s going on in the world.

Major financial stories are covered, along with major pieces of world news.

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Identity and Verification

In order to be able to make deposits, trade and withdraw at AvaTrade you will need to complete an identity verification process.

This is a legal requirement.

To complete this step, you’ll need to upload proof of your name – a passport or driving license is sufficient – as well as proof of address.

Your proof of address can include a copy of your most recent utility bill, a bank statement or your phone bill.

Verification takes anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days.

When I signed up, I waited around six hours for my account to be fully verified and ready to go.

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Can Ava Trade Be Trusted?

One of the things I stress is that you must choose a forex/CFD brokerage that’s trustworthy.

In fact, it’s one of the main reasons why I look so closely at the regulation surrounding a trading platform.

It’s all too common for firms to operate out of some shady jurisdiction, and in doing so you have virtually no protection as a trader, should you want to withdraw your funds and run into problems.

AvaTrade is one of the most regulated trading platforms I’ve come across, and it’s evident that they have one of the strongest reputations in the industry.

In Europe, for example, they’re regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, a very well-respected financial regulator.

For Australian traders, AvaTrade is regulated by the ASIC, and in Japan they are licensed by the FSA and the FFA.

They are even regulated in South Africa by the FSB.

It’s clear they operate in regulated jurisdictions all over the world, and a quick web search showed me they have a very low complaints volume.

When it comes to keeping your personal details and sensitive information safe, AvaTrade uses state-of-the-art encryption to ensure that all information stored in their database is protected.

This means that even if third-party hackers were to get into the site’s database, they would be unable to view any of your personal details.

I did all my usual security checks with AvaTrade and found they tick all of the boxes, showing that they offer a safe and secure way to trade.

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Research and Assistance

AvaTrade offers a fantastic variety of educational tools, and these are designed to be used by both novice and experienced traders.

However, these educational tools are located in a variety of different places, and some are provided directly from AvaTrade while others are available through third-party clients like WebTrader and MetaTrader.

One of my favourite educational tools available is their “Trading Ideas’ section.

This provides you with relevant, up-to-date trading ideas, all of which have been developed based on complex technical software.

They’re found within the “Trading Central” module, and they give you an indication of potential trades to make.

There’s also a great selection of charting tools. These charts update in real time and give you a good indication of what’s going on in the markets.

Real time news feeds also help you understand why these charts are changing, so you can view what’s going on in the world.

Major financial stories are covered, along with major pieces of world news.

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Demo Accounts

As with any leading trading platform, AvaTrade let you open a demo account.

To do so, you’ll need to enter a few personal details, but I should point out that this process isn’t anywhere near as comprehensive as when opening a real money account.

The demo account gives you full functionality on most of the trading platforms offered at AvaTrade.

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Desktop Experience

AvaTrade offers one of the largest selections of trading accounts I’ve come across , as you’ll be able to use WebTrader,

MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5 and AvaOptions.

Below, I’m going to talk about two of the most popular platforms, WebTrader and MetaTrader4. These are the two most commonly used trading platforms at AvaTrade.

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WebTrader

WebTrader is one of the most popular trading platforms on the planet, and it’s used by millions of traders every single month.

It’s available in a number of different languages too, and at AvaTrade you’ll find it offered in English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Russian.

The user-interface is incredibly user-friendly and intuitive, and a simple navigation menu on the left-hand-side of the screen makes getting around easy.

My only real complaint with WebTrader is that you can’t customize it.

For example, I wasn’t able to adjust the size or position of the tabs, which I found to be slightly annoying.

The search function works great and allows you to easily sort through all of the assets and commodities available to trade at AvaTrade.

The clear portfolio and fee reports are also very good.

I also really like WebTrader’s “History’ section as it gives you a comprehensive look at your account, so you can see your activity over the past weeks, months and years.

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MetaTrader4

MetaTrader4 is another of the popular trading platforms offered at AvaTrade.

It’s available in a huge number of languages, including Arabic, Dutch, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Chinese, Czech, Danish, English, Estonian and Finnish.

MetaTrader4 is the world’s leading trading platform for a reason.

It’s incredibly easy-to-use, easy-to-navigate and user-friendly.

I love the fact that there are so many ways to customize your experience, and you can change everything from the size of the tabs to the way they’re positioned on the screen.

My only real complaint with MetaTrader4 is that it can be a little hard to find certain features. Adding new assets to a watchlist, for example, isn’t as easy as with WebTrader.

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Mobile Experience

Like all leading trading platforms, AvaTrade offers a comprehensive mobile trading experience.

It’s called AvaTradeGO, and it’s the site’s very own trading platform, designed for all iOS and Android devices.

They also offer a secondary mobile product called AvaOptions, although this is purely for trading forex options.

For the purpose of this review, I’m going to be covering AvaTradeGO, as it’s the site’s most popular mobile trading platform.

Unfortunately, the app is only available in English.

My first impressions of the app were positive.

It’s clear that the brokerage has spent a significant amount of time and money in developing the app, and it looks and feels great.

One thing I do really like about it is that it’s incredibly easy to contact customer support through the app itself.

I’ll be talking more about the customer support at AvaTrade later in this review, but there’s even a live chat function built into the app, and that’s not something you see offered at many trading platforms today.

It’s also possible to access all the educational materials you’d find at AvaTrade’s desktop site, and you can even watch tutorial videos and webinars from it.

However, be careful if you’re using the app if not connected to WIFI, as the app can use quite a bit of data, especially if you’re streaming videos and webinars.

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Investment Options

My biggest complaint about AvaTrade is the lack of trading markets available. At the time of writing they only offer access to CFDs – including forex and stocks.

Unfortunately, you won’t find any asset classes, like real stocks, bonds or even mutual funds. However, don’t let this put you off entirely, as they do offer quite a substantial selection of these CFDs.

Primarily, AvaTrade is a forex-focused site.

They offer a huge selection of pairs, including major, minor and exotics. There are 56 currency pairs in total, and if you’re looking for Stock Index CFDs you’ll find 20.

However, when it comes to general stock CFDs, you’ll find some 630 – more than enough for the vast majority of traders.

They also offer 17 cryptos, including big-name coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. There are just two Bond CFDs available, and 17 Commodity CFDs. You’ll also find 5 ETF CFDs.

In the future, I’d really like to see AvaTrade expanding their investment options. What they’re currently offering is okay, but it’s not industry-leading.

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Commissions and Fees

AvaTrade’s fees and commissions aren’t the platform’s strongest point. For example, their average spreads on their variable pricing could be much better.

However, they’re certainly not the worst around.

AvaTrade boasts of charging no commission trading and ultra-low spreads.

However, I found that this isn’t always the case as it depends on which type of account you’ve opened as to whether this rings true or not.

They operate an up-to-date page on their website which gives you a comprehensive rundown of interest calculations, rollover fees and inactivity fees.

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Deposits & Withdrawals

I’m pleased to report that AvaTrade offers a wide variety of payment methods for you to choose from, and they offer a number of payment methods I don’t usually see offered at online brokerages, which is a definite plus point.

For example, along with the usual array of payment options, including VISA, MasterCard and Maestro, AvaTrade also offers the ability to use certain EWallets.

The most notable of these is PayPal.

You’ll also find yourself able to make deposits and withdrawals using Skrill, Neteller and WebMoney.

If you’re depositing/withdrawing higher amounts you can also opt to use bank transfer or cheque, but I should point out that these may come with fees attached, so always check beforehand.

Like almost all trading platforms, you’ll need to withdraw your funds using the same payment method you used to deposit at AvaTrade.

This has nothing to do with the site itself as it’s a rule put in place by the site’s regulators to help prevent money laundering.

So, if you were to make a deposit using your debit card, you’d need to make your withdrawal back to the same debit card.

Withdrawal requests aren’t processed particularly quickly, as the financial team at AvaTrade can take up to five working days to process withdrawal requests.

In my opinion this isn’t really good enough, especially when there are trading platforms offering one to two day withdrawals.

However, you can sign up for an Ava Debit Mastercard.

This will allow you to spend funds in your account instantly, just as you would do with your other debit cards.

There are no charges to make deposits, but withdrawals may be subject to fees.

It depends on which country you reside in and which payment method you choose to use.

A full breakdown of any payment method fees can be found on AvaTrade’s website.

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Customer Support

I was really impressed with AvaTrade’s customer support team.

It’s clear they’ve been incredibly well-trained, and from what I experienced when trading, they went out of their way to help me.

In fact, I didn’t get the feeling they were annoyed or bored by my questioning and I asked them quite a lot, so they get top marks here.

AvaTrade offers a number of customer support methods, and these methods are available in a number of different languages.

Below, I’m going to walk you through the various contact methods available.

Live chat is by far the best way of contacting the trading platform’s customer support team, and it allows you to chat with a trained customer support team member in real-time.

The wait time to be connected with an operator varies, but I found it took no longer than two minutes on the vast majority of occasions.

Once connected the operator will stay with you, chatting until your problem or query is resolved.

Telephone support is also available, and this would be the method of customer support I’d recommend if live chat isn’t suitable for you.

Their phone reps are really helpful, although the wait time is a little longer.

I found myself waiting about five minutes before I was put through to someone.

I should also point out that AvaTrade has compiled a comprehensive FAQ section.

This is incredibly in-depth and aims to answer some of the most common questions you may have.

It’s also able to perform some basic troubleshooting, although if you have any account-specific problems you will probably need to speak to a member of the trading platform’s customer support team in order to get a resolution.

On a final note, I really like how AvaTrade has different customer support teams located around the world.

This means that you can speak with representatives in your language, and most of the time they’re based in the same country as you too.

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Conclusion

Despite not offering the largest selection of investment options, as well as withdrawals that can take up to five days to be processed, I have no issues recommending AvaTrade to you.

Their website has been built from the ground up to accommodate traders, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re brand new or a seasoned investor, as you’ll find a platform to suit you.

The sign-up process is simple and straightforward, and while the account verification took a bit longer than I’d have hoped for, the rest of the trading experience more than made up for this shortcoming.

Their customer support portal is excellent, and you’ll have no problems getting in touch with someone should you need help or support.

I also really like the fact that they accept EWallets as deposit/withdrawal methods.

This is useful for those who don’t want to use debit and credit cards.