Errante Review 2022

Trust

In our trust category, we place most importance on how a broker is regulated. So let’s dive in and take a look at how the different entities of Errante across the globe are regulated and how this impacts you as a trader. We rate regulators on a scale of 1 to 3, with 1 reflecting the highest level of trust.

• Notely Trading Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) with licence number 383/20. We rate CySEC as a Tier 1 regulator.
• Errante Securities (Seychelles) Ltd. is regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) under licence number SD038. We rate the Seychelles FSA as a Tier 3 regulator. While the trader protections under the entity are considerably weaker, Errante offers 1 million Euro insurance program under the Seychelles license.

Why is it important to know where your broker subsidiary (entity) is regulated?

Different regulators provide different levels of protection. For example, Errante clients in the EU benefit from the oversight of the CySEC.

CySEC requires that clients have negative balance protection, which means that they cannot lose more than their deposit. Client funds must be held in segregated accounts, which are protected in the event of a broker going bankrupt.

In addition, CySEC ensures compensation of up to €20,000 in the event of broker insolvency. By contrast, a trader working with a broker entity regulated offshore, (such as the Seychelles Financial Services Authority) would not have these benefits guaranteed to them. However, Errante has purchased private insurance from Lloyd’s of London to protect client accounts for up to €1,000,000.

In the table below we break down the mandated protections and benefits by entity, regulator and region.

Regulatory requirements are subject to change. The data listed above was gathered in March 2022.

Stability and Transparency

In our tests for the Trust category we also cover factors relating to stability and transparency. Here, we focus on how long the broker has been in business, the size of the company and how transparent they are in terms of information being readily available.

Errante has a limited operating history of 3 years. According to their LinkedIn page, the company is headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus and has 11-50 employees.

In our research, Errante showed an average level of transparency in their regulatory status, with a listing of all their entities and their regulators on their Licenses & Regulations page.

The website is lacking in a page covering fees and consequently we judged that Errante has a low level of transparency in this area. Although there is an About Us page, Errante shares very little about their background. The Terms & Conditions can be found on the Legal Documents page.

Fees

In the Standard Account, Errante earns money mainly from spreads (the gap between the bid and offer prices of an asset) and overnight financing (swap) fees.

Trading Fees

We tested the spreads at Errante across different asset classes in a Standard Account using the MetaTrader 4 platform. The test was done at 8AM GMT and at 4PM GMT on March 2nd 2022. We made our tests at two different times to allow greater perspective. 8AM GMT is the London open, when there is a great deal of liquidity in the forex market and therefore tighter spreads in currency pairs. 4PM GMT is during the New York trading session.

Swap fees (the cost of holding a position overnight) were roughly average at Errante.

Overnight fees (swap fees) are charged for CFD positions that stay open overnight and are relative to the value of the position. They are essentially an interest payment to cover the cost of the leverage that was used overnight.

In the table below you can see the Swap Long (the cost/credit of holding a buy position overnight) and the Swap Short (the cost/credit of holding a sell position overnight) for one full sized contract. A full sized contract is 100,000 units of the base currency (the first currency quoted in the pair). We recorded the data on March 2nd 2022.

Swap Fees

Non-Trading Fees

Errante charges a one off account maintenance fee of $15 followed by a monthly fee of $5 per month for accounts that have remained inactive for 3 months. The inactivity fee is about average for the industry, although it begins relatively soon as many brokers will allow 6 months to a year before applying charges.

Errante does not charge deposit or withdrawal fees for bank wire or credit/debit cards. However, there is a 1% withdrawal fee when using e-wallets.

Are Fees at Errante Competitive?

Spreads in the Standard Account are better than average for the industry, especially in indices and some currency pairs. Swap fees are average. Non-trading fees are kept to a minimum. Overall we judged that fees at Errante are competitive.

Platforms and Tools

Errante offers MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 for desktop, which includes advanced functions such as copy trading and automated trading.

MetaTrader 4 is available in 39 languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese. The platform provides popular features such as:

• Alerts. This feature allows traders to be updated when an instrument reaches a specific price level. Alerts can be delivered via audio, an email, or a push notification to a mobile device.
• Watchlists. Traders can set up a list of their favorite instruments and follow live quotes in a panel called Market Watch.
• One-click trading. This feature allows traders to execute orders with a single click and no secondary confirmation. Being able to place a trade with a single click saves time and is especially useful for short term traders.
• Trading from the chart. MT4 also allows users the convenience of trading directly from the chart.

MetaTrader also delivers when it comes to the range of available order types and its charting functionality. The following order types are available:

• Market Order. This is an order to buy or sell an instrument at the current best available price.
• Limit Order. This is an order to buy or sell an instrument at a specified price or better.
• Stop Loss Order. This is an order to buy or sell an instrument that is triggered when price reaches a specified level.
• Trailing Stop Order. This is a stop loss order that can be set at a defined percentage or dollar amount away from an instrument’s current market price. It is used to secure profits when you are in a winning trade, while not having to exit the position.

Charting features are robust. MetaTrader 4 offers:

• 30 technical indicators. These include classic trend indicators, volume indicators and oscillators.
• 23 analytical objects. These include lines, channels, Gann and Fibonacci tools.
• 9 time frames. Each instrument can be displayed in nine time frames, from one minute to one month.
• 3 chart types. Traders can choose between Bar Charts, Japanese Candlestick Charts and Line Charts.

MetaTrader is also popular due to its copy trading and automated trading features.

• Trading Signals. Signals in MetaTrader 4 allow users to automatically copy the activity of other traders in real time.
• Automated trading. MetaTrader 4 allows users to develop, test and apply Expert Advisors (EAs). EAs are programs that monitor and trade markets using algorithms. They find opportunities according to set parameters and then either create a notification or automatically open a trade.

To conclude, the MetaTrader 4 desktop platform is one of the most feature rich and popular trading platforms in the world. It does not have the most beautiful interface and it does require some time and effort to learn, but that is typical of advanced platforms.

Mobile App

For mobile trading, Errante offers the MetaTrader 4 mobile app, which is available for Android and iOS. The app offers popular features such as alerts, 1-click trading and trading from the chart.

The MetaTrader 4 mobile app also provides a broad range of order types including pending and stop-orders. However, trailing stop loss orders are only available from desktop. In order to change the language of the MT4 app, you must change the language for your entire phone. As with desktop and web, the interface is not the most intuitive but the MT4 app offers an above average range of features.

Order Execution

Errante is a dealing desk/market maker broker, meaning that they set the bid (buy) and offer (sell) prices internally and automatically take the other side of a clients trade. Errante acts as a principal and not as an agent on behalf of the client and the sole execution venue for the execution of the client’s orders. For more information, see the legal document: Order Execution Policy.

Tradable Instruments

CFDs (Contract for Differences) are financial derivative products that allow traders to speculate in various markets without owning the underlying assets. Tradable instruments at Errante include the following assets:

• 50 Currency Pairs. A currency pair combines two different currencies, with the value of one currency quoted against the other. For example EUR/USD, which reflects the value of the euro measured in dollars.
• 11 Indices. An index is a basket of trading instruments that is used to gauge a market sector, stocks within an exchange or the economy of a country.
• 17 Cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are digital currencies that are secured by cryptography.
• 67 Stock CFDs. A stock is a security that represents partial ownership of a corporation. Keep in mind that when trading stock CFDs you are speculating on the price of a stock without actually taking ownership of the underlying company.
• 7 Commodity CFDs. Commodities are raw products, such as gold and oil.

In the tables below, you can see a selection highlighting the variety of instruments available at Errante:

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

In the category of Tradable Instruments, Errante is strongest in forex and cryptocurrencies but has a relatively small number of stock CFDs available.

Customer Support

Via live chat and by phone we received a fast response, with an operator responding within less than a minute. Via email we also got speedy replies, coming in less than 24 hours.

We tested support with a variety of questions, covering subjects such as their inactivity fee and the total processing time for withdrawals via bank wire. Via chat the quality of the support was mixed but in the end we were able to get our questions answered. By phone and email we received helpful responses.

Deposits & Withdrawals

In the tables below we break down the deposit methods, costs and processing times for deposits and withdrawals. Note that processing time includes that of both parties in cases such as bank transfer.

Deposits

*Errante does not cover any fees that may be charged by your bank.

Withdrawals

Account Types and Terms

The application process at the offshore entity includes the following questions:

• Name.
• Country.
• Phone number
• Email.
• Date of birth.
• Whether you are a Political Exposed Person (PEP)
• Level of education.
• Employment status.
• Source of funds.
• Annual income.
• Net worth.
• Amount you intend to invest.

Account Types

The table below covers key account features of each account type.

Leverage

One of the reasons that traders are attracted to the forex and CFD markets is the high degree of available leverage. Leverage is the use of borrowed funds to increase the size of your trading positions beyond what would be possible using only the cash in your account.

The maximum leverage for a Standard Account at Errante is 1:500. This means that with an account of $1,000 you can control up to $500,000 worth of positions in the market. Leverage is often described as a ‘double-edged sword’ as it can hurt you as much as it helps you. Traders must remember that it can amplify both their profits and their losses.

Demo Accounts

Errante offers demo accounts for MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Demo accounts are especially important for beginners as they allow them to practice their strategies and get comfortable with the trading platform without risking any real money.

The demo account features live quotes and simulates live market conditions in assets such as forex and CFDs on commodities, indices and stocks. Once you have got up to speed on a demo account, you can easily switch over to a live account.

Islamic Accounts

Errante offers a swap free Islamic account that adheres to the principles of Sharia law.

Supported Countries

Errante accepts clients from the majority of countries globally. However, Errante does not accept clients from Albania, Belgium, Canada, Iraq, North Korea, Panama, Syria, USA, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

Research

Errante’s research consists mostly of forward looking material focused on the week ahead or major economic events. These bulletins are very brief, covering market expectations and sometimes touching on major support and resistance levels. Overall, we judged the written offering to be a bit thin and would like to see greater depth in the reports more frequent publication. Live webinars geared to help traders improve their skills are available a couple of times per week. Technical topics such as ‘Trend Day Analysis’ are covered in these events. An economic calendar is available on the company website and the client portal, allowing clients to stay on top of the latest economic releases.

Education

The video education materials at Errante are broken down into beginner and advanced. The beginner section covers the following:

• Introduction to Forex. This series includes 16 short videos covering essential topics such as Trend Lines, Fundamental Analysis and Understanding Candlesticks. The total watch time is 43 minutes.
• MetaTrader 4. This series has 36 brief lessons covering material such as How to Open a New Trade and How to Change the Platform Language. Total watch time is 36 minutes.
• MetaTrader 5. This includes 36 short lessons covering topics such as How to Access Your Trading History. Total watch time is 36 minutes.

These videos make a useful starting point for traders and in particular the content covering the MetaTrader platform which is not very user friendly for inexperienced traders. Further videos catering to advanced traders are available but require the deposit of 300 $/€ to access.

The Bottom Line

Errante is a broker that has some attractive features such as tight spreads, fast processing times for deposits/withdrawals and a range of account types to cater to different trader profiles. Traders can operate in a diverse range of markets via the powerful MetaTrader platform and also participate in copy trading. Better research materials and more reliable customer service would help to round out this broker’s offering.

FAQ