FBS Review 2022

Trust

In our trust category, we place most importance on how a broker is regulated. So let’s take a look at how the different entities of FBS 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.

The various entities of FBS are regulated as follows:

• Tradestone Ltd. is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under license number 331/17.We rate CySEC as a Tier 1 regulator.
• FBS Oceania is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) under license number 426359.We rate ASIC as a Tier 1 regulator.
• Tradestone SA (PTY) Ltd. is regulated by the South Africa Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), under FSP number 50885. We rate FSCA as a Tier 2 regulator.
• FBS Markets Inc. is regulated by the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC) of Belize, Registration No. 119717.We rate IFSC as a Tier 3 regulator.

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

Different regulators provide different levels of protection. Clients of FBS in the EU and Australia have the benefit of segregated accounts due to CySEC and ASIC requirements. This means that client funds are not mixed with the operating funds of the broker. Having funds held in segregated accounts protects clients in the event that a broker becomes insolvent and declares bankruptcy. In the EU and Australia, FBS clients also have negative balance protection, meaning that they cannot lose more than their deposit.

Meanwhile, clients outside of Europe, Australia and South Africa are with the FBS Markets Inc. entity, which is regulated by the IFSC of Belize and does not offer the same level of protections. For example, client accounts are not segregated when trading with the FBS Markets Inc. entity.

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

Stability and Transparency

In our tests for the trust category we also cover factors such as how long the broker has been in business, the size of the company and how transparent they are.

Founded in 2009, FBS has a substantial operating history and a client base numbering in the millions, according to their website. The company LinkedIn page lists the number of employees as 201-500, reflecting a mid-sized brokerage firm.

Financial reporting requirements make it easier to see how stable a publicly traded company is at a given time. Since FBS is not a publicly traded company, there is less transparency into the health of the company.

From looking at the FBS website (fbs.eu) and social media presence we judged that this broker has an adequate level of transparency relating to its fees, regulatory status and the overall background of the company. Information and materials were clearly laid out and easy to find. Their regulatory status can be viewed on their Regulation and Licence page. All the information relating to fees can be found in the Client Agreement/Terms and Conditions on the Legal Documents page.

Overall, we judged that FBS has a level of trust and stability somewhat above the average of the CFD brokerage industry but not as high as leaders such as CMC Markets or IG Group.

Fees

FBS is a market maker/dealing desk broker. This means that they take the other side of a client’s trades and that trading fees are built into the spread.

The spread is the difference between the bid (sell) price and the ask (buy) price. Narrower spreads allow you to enter and exit the market at a lower cost, which is especially important for active traders. Tests were performed using the MetaTrader 4 platform in November of 2021.

Spread costs were above average for popular currency pairs like EUR/USD and overnight swap fees were average in our tests. FBS has a low inactivity fee of 5 EUR a month for accounts that are dormant for 180 calendar days.

Trading Fees

Spreads in major currency pairs such as EUR/USD are competitive, but in others such as GBP/JPY they are average. Spreads in commodities and stocks range from average to above average. Spreads were relatively wide in some indices, for example the Dow.

Note: The spreads in a standard account are the same as a professional account.

Swap fees (the cost of holding a position overnight) at FBS were about average in our tests.

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 December 1st 2021.

Non-Trading Fees

FBS has no deposit or withdrawal fees and an inactivity fee of just $5. This suggested to us a progressive and customer-centric approach to pricing in this area.

Are Fees at FBS Competitive?

We judged that fees at FBS ranged from average to competitive in some cases for the CFD industry.

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 FBS include the following CFDs:

• 43 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.
• 5 Commodities. Commodities are raw products, such as gold and oil.
• 99 Stocks. FBS offers trading in global stock CFDs from exchanges ranging from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to the Deutsche Börse Xetra. 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 asset.
• 11 Stock Indices. Available instruments at FBS range from Australian to German stock indices. A stock index is a basket of shares 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.

Below is a sampling of instruments across the various asset classes.

While a broad range of markets are available, some instruments such as bonds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) are not available. Overall the range of tradable instruments at FBS is better than the industry average.

Account Types and Terms

Account Opening

It is easy to open an account at FBS and the process is fully digital. After confirming your email you can choose the version of MetaTrader you want to use (4 or 5) and the base currency for your account (USD or EUR).

If you are opening an account from within the EU you will need to complete a brief KYC (Know Your Customer) survey after registering. KYC aims to ensure that brokers understand the clients’ risk tolerance, investment knowledge, and financial position.

Account Types

Let’s take a closer look at the different account types available at FBS: Standard, Cent and Crypto.

The Standard Account is suitable for traders with some experience while the Cent Account is geared towards beginners who want to trade real funds without taking much risk. With a Cent Account, your balance appears in cents and traders can open orders with a volume of 0.01. The Crypto account focuses exclusively on cryptocurrency trading and can only be accessed via the FBS Trader mobile app.

For both Standard and Cent accounts it is possible to upgrade to professional status. In order to qualify as a professional, traders must meet a number of eligibility requirements.

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.

Standard and Cent accounts offer leverage of 1:30, but after being designated as a professional, traders can access leverage of 1:500. With 1:30 leverage, a trader can control $30,000 worth of market exposure with $1,000. As a designated professional with access to 1:500 leverage, a trader can control $500,000 worth of market exposure with just $1,000.

For the Crypto account the available leverage is much lower at 1:2. This means that with $1,000 a trader can only control $2,000 worth of positions in the market.

Leverage is often described as a ‘double-edged sword’ because it can amplify both your profits and losses. Leveraged trading comes with a high level of risk and can often result in significant losses.

Demo and Islamic Accounts

FBS also offers a demo account to help users practice trading using virtual funds and swap free Islamic accounts that adhere to the principles of Sharia law.

FBS Supported Countries

FBS takes clients from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

They do not accept clients from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, Myanmar and Yemen.

Deposit and Withdrawal

FBS does better than most competitors by not charging transaction fees for deposits and withdrawals. When using an electronic payment system, users are typically credited within 24 hours. When using a wire transfer, the processing time can take up to 48 hours and it can take a total of 5-7 business days for funds to be available in your account.

Deposits

Deposits are free at FBS and the following account funding methods are available. Funds are available immediately with the exception of wire transfer, which takes 3-4 business days. Keep in mind that banks typically charge for sending wire transfers out.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals from FBS are also free and in most cases take 15-20 minutes, with the exception of bank wire, which takes 48 hours to process. Processing by the bank may take as much as 5-7 business days. Withdrawals are available via the following methods:

Customer Support

We tested support at FBS over phone, live chat and email, with multiple inquiries. Responses were quick, with helpful and courteous agents. With live chat, you do not have to answer a bot before being connected to a live representative. Phone inquiries were answered within a few rings and emails replied to within 24 hours.

We tested the phone support asking questions like ‘what is the maximum leverage available for professional accounts?’’ and got a prompt and satisfactory answer. Chat responses were generally good, but stumbled a little on harder questions like ‘how can I place a trailing stop order in MT5?’.

In the EU, customer support is available from Monday through Friday, 8:00 – 24:00 (GMT + 3), excluding major holidays. However, 24/7 support is available in other regions. Customer support is available in multiple languages globally.

Research

FBS provides news and daily market analysis written by its own team of market experts. Market commentary covers both technical and fundamental analysis. Daily trading plans and weekly insights are among the topics covered in video format.

Fresh material is added multiple times a day and the overall volume of research is above average for the industry. The materials are fairly easy to understand, making them accessible to both beginners and experienced traders. Content can be found on the website, under the Analytics and Education tab.

FBS also provides classic research tools such as an economic calendar (covering currencies, stocks and dividends), as well as a forex calculator and currency converter. Trader tools can be found on the website under the Analytics and Education tab. As with the market analysis, FBS goes the extra mile with tools and provides an above average offering.

Education

FBS checks all the boxes when it comes to educational materials. Resources include:

• Articles, catering to beginners, intermediate and advanced traders.
• Trading ideas, such as ‘How to trade trend pullbacks’.
• Webinars, featuring topics such as ‘How to backtest a trading strategy’.
• Video Lessons, covering topics such as ‘Technical indicators in MT4’.
• Glossary, featuring a comprehensive listing of terms.
• Courses, covering material such as support and resistance levels and money management.

FBS courses are broken down into beginner, elementary, intermediate and experienced categories. We found the material to be well crafted and insightful. Course materials are drip fed via email.

A five week long ‘forex intensive’ course in video format is also available. With materials ranging from the forex market basics to complex trading strategies there is something for all levels of trader to learn from.

Platform and Tools

MetaTrader is an industry leading platform used by millions of traders. FBS offers MetaTrader 4 and 5 for both web and desktop. For mobile trading, FBS offers their proprietary FBS Trader mobile app in addition to the MetaTrader 4 and 5 apps. In our review we tested the MetaTrader 5 web and desktop platforms and the FBS Trader mobile app.

Web and Desktop

The MetaTrader web platform allows you to trade without any additional software – only a browser and an internet connection are required. The platform allows users to trade directly from any browser and operating system. Key features include:

• One-click trading. Traders can use this feature to enter orders with a single click using preset conditions.
• Trading from the chart. Order entry buttons are conveniently located within the chart as shown in the image above.
• Watchlists. This allows traders to stay on top of the real time prices of their favorite instruments.
• Trade History. Easily access the trades you have recently made.
• Advanced Charting. The MT5 web platform has strong charting capabilities with 31 indicators for technical analysis.
• Broad Range of Order Types. These include market order, limit order, stop loss order and stop limit orders. Time in force conditions such as GTC (Good ‘Til Canceled) are available.

FBS also offers MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 for desktop, which include advanced functions such as copy trading and automated trading. MetaTrader 5 is available in 31 languages.

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. MT5 also allows users the convenience of trading directly from the chart.

Order Types

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 Orders. 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

Charting features are robust. MetaTrader 5 desktop offers:

• 38 technical indicators. These include classic trend indicators, volume indicators and oscillators.
• 44 analytical objects. These include lines, channels, Gann and Fibonacci tools.
• 21 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.

Advanced Features

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 5 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

FBS offers MetaTrader 4 and 5 mobile apps and its proprietary FBS Trader mobile app.

The FBS Trader app has an attractive interface and allows users to trade a wide range of instruments on the go. A chat feature is available within the app, so customer support is easily on hand. Basic order types such as market orders, limit orders and stop loss orders are available. An economic calendar and a calendar covering earnings and dividends for stocks are also conveniently built into the app.

The interface is well designed and easy to navigate but the app lacks some of the features of MetaTrader 4 and 5 for mobile, which are also available for FBS clients. MetaTrader 4 and 5 mobile apps are available in 24 languages and offer popular features such as alerts and 1-click trading. MetaTrader 4 and 5 mobile apps also offer a broader range of order types and more advanced charting. FBS Trader and MetaTrader 4 and 5 are available for Android and iOS.

Order Execution

FBS 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. This contrasts with STP/ECN brokers who provide clients direct access to other market participants. (STP stands for straight through processing and ECN stands for electronic communications network.)

The Bottom Line

When testing FBS, we were pleased to see better than average spreads in some popular trading instruments such as EUR/USD. In other instruments the spreads are rather wide, which makes successfully day trading such markets harder.

This broker has gone above and beyond with their educational resources, which range from courses to live webinars – a boon to newcomers to trading. The popular MetaTrader platform is feature rich. However, it is less intuitive than some competing platforms and it may present a steep learning curve for absolute beginners. Overall FBS provides a well rounded offering. They could do even better by adding proprietary platforms for web and desktop to their suite of tools.

FAQ