Which UK broker for a demo account?

Broker Discussion Forex Brokers
1

Hi

Hoping someone can help with some newbie questions about trading from the UK. I’m two thirds through Pipsology and ready to try demo trading soon.

1)Which broker/s would you recommend for a demo account?

I’d like a GBP account using MT4, micro as well as mini, with a broker who doesn’t trade against you, if possible based in the UK. Ideally with tight spreads as well but I suppose that’s not essential for demo trading. From the Babypips comparison and ratings pages I chose FX Pro, then found that although they have a UK branch they were set up and are based in Cyprus (according to Wikipedia anyway). I’d use IG Markets if they offered MT4. The other UK broker I found, InterTrader, only does standard lots (not mini or micro). Wondering who else there is in the UK, maybe not on the ratings pages, who offer most of what I’m looking for?

  1. My maximum pot size would be £6000 (approx. $9000) but I’d prefer to use just half of that. How realistic would you say that is, risking 1% per trade with as close to a 3:1 reward:risk ratio as I can get? Obviously, I’d be happy with small wins to build the pot up slowly.

  2. I’m thinking of testing the Skyplay System and one of the channel breakout systems in demo. How well would you say they’d fit with my criteria in question 2) ?

  3. Do any UK traders use a USD account or is that asking for trouble?

A lot to ask, I know. All views on any of this will be much appreciated. And feel free to correct me if I’ve misunderstood something.

2

I wouldn’t worry about fxpro they are also registered in uk so your covered.
I am currently using the ctrader demo and think it is really good.

3

Alpari do mini lots, uk based ,support and trading tools. FSA regulated. Quite big spreads on classic account compared to some brokers on MT4. They do an ECN type account with tighter spreads on MT5 platform. They do FX spreadbetting now on MT4.Quite good customer service, account manager will ring you even on demo account

4

alpari have good pro/ecn accounts in UK

5

Thanks for your prompt and helpful reply asd.

6

Thanks for this, mark. Good to hear ctrader is working well for you, I’ll bear it in mind.

7

Thanks for this, lordvader. I’ll look at Alpari UK.

8

I was same as yourself. I did all my demo trading with FXPro but i’ve opened a live account with AlpariUK. I’m using a spread betting account with a lot size of 0.1 so every pip equates to 10p. Opened with £250 and using tight M/M account is sitting healthy with £550 over 3 months. Customer service has been excellent, spreads are pretty good and if you are wantingto open a MT4 account with spread betting which as a UK resident I would suggest then Alpari is one lf the few that do this. And from my research the best.
Regards
Ryan

9

I would not recommend a demo account at all. It is one of the worst steps you can take. I know roughly 98 out of 100 would recommend a demo account, but having said that roughly 98 out of 100 traders fail. While I do not suggest that it will lead to guaranteed failure, I am simply offering you a different point of view.

I would recommend the following post on this topic which I found very useful, especially for new traders:

Myths and Dangers of Forex Demo Accounts

Most people will disagree with the concerns raised in this post, but I think it is worth a read (Mods, in case I am not allowed to share links to third-parties please remove the link. I only provided it as I think it adds to the conversation and the point I tried to communicate).

10

Thanks, Ryan, that’s very helpful. With these recommendations I think I’ll give Alpari UK a try. Congratulations on your success with the live account.

11

An interesting post. Not having traded demo or live yet I can’t really argue with it - except to point out that if I could just keep replenishing my account from the great wallet in the sky why would I need to trade at all? :wink:

For me, demo trading will be a confidence boost. I understand a lot of the theory now and I need to hammer it home with practice before I risk real cash. And it seems a good way to test a couple of trading systems ‘as-live’. But I do agree a demo a/c can’t possibly teach you trading psychology. Once I have the confidence to trade live, Ryan’s approach may work just as well for me as a demo account. We shall see :slight_smile:

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Applecore

12

Hi Applecore,

I hope the trading is coming along well. I believe demo trading to learn the basics and test a strategy that you feel comfortable withis fantastic and by then moving to a real account to learn the emotional side is the best way forward. I’m glad my advise has helped you.
Regards
Ryan

13

You are welcome and best wishes in your forex trades.

14

I’m trading with Hotforex and it’s from UK - Europre (I’m not sure). I think you can try its demo account, but please remember demo is different with live.

15

They are not from the UK. They are from Mauritius. I don’t know where you got your information from.

16

I have been looking for ages but think I have settled on fxcm with the tradestation ii platform. My requirements were that I wanted a good reputable broker and for it to work on a mac but without additional software, a good app for my ipad and a micro acc. Getting all of these together seemed hard but one thing I have found is that you may need to compromise on some things and even then it might not be perfect. I did want to use fx pro as I really like the platform and they seem good but they did not offer a micro acc, which is a shame.

Just my two penny’s worth.

17

True, Fx Pro does not offer micro accounts.

18

I would recommend Fxpro as i tried the others and didn’t get anywhere.

20

What exactly do you mean?

21

I’ve been trying many brokers along my trading career and unlike others I have to say that Alpari comes at my bottom pages. Didn’t like their services at all. Just peaking from my own experience.