Focus Markets review

Our rating

Focus Markets scores 7.2 out of 10 on our table. That figure is an average of six things we assess, and it hides the shape of the broker: its strongest area is regulation at 7.8, its weakest is education at 6.4. Whether that gap matters depends entirely on which of the six you were going to use.

Regulation and safety7.8/10

Focus Markets lists its authorisations as ASIC (AFSL 514425); Mauritius FSC (GB25205284). That is a mixed structure, and the mix is the point: it holds at least one tier-one licence alongside offshore entities, and which one takes your account depends on where you live rather than on which you would prefer.

The licence that matters to you is the one held by the entity that opens your account, and at a multi-entity broker that is decided by your country of residence. Its registration can be checked directly on the ASIC Professional Registers, AFSL 514425. It is a two-minute check and it is the only way to confirm that the firm taking your deposit is the firm named on the website.

Client money is held separately from the firm's own funds, with not prominently disclosed - so that if the business fails, client balances are not part of what its creditors can reach. Negative balance protection applies to australian retail protections apply, so a gap through your stop cannot leave you owing the broker money.

No statutory compensation scheme stands behind it. If the firm fails, recovering client money is an insolvency process rather than a claim - which is the practical difference between an offshore licence and a tier-one one.

Focus Markets does not accept clients from jurisdiction-dependent. Restriction lists move, so confirm your own country before you spend time on an application.

What it costs to trade7.7/10

Focus Markets advertises spreads from 0.0 pips. Commission is $3.50 per side / $7 round turn, Raw, charged on top of the spread rather than instead of it - which is the normal arrangement on a raw account and the reason its quoted spread can be so low. Put the two together and a EUR/USD round turn works out at variable, which is the figure worth comparing against other brokers.

An advertised minimum is the best price a broker has ever quoted, not the price you will get. On our record its measured average on EUR/USD is not reliably published, and not reliably published on GBP/USD. Spreads are variable, so they move with liquidity and widen around releases and the daily rollover.

Positions held overnight accrue a financing charge, which is irrelevant to a day trader and compounds for anyone holding for weeks. Currency conversion applies where your account and the instrument use different currencies, which is a charge worth avoiding by funding in the currency you actually trade.

Leave the account dormant and it costs you: not prominently advertised. That is the charge most often missed when comparing brokers, and it matters disproportionately if you trade seasonally or infrequently.

Platforms and tools7.2/10

Focus Markets runs MetaTrader 5, TradeLocker. MetaTrader 5 without MetaTrader 4 is worth noting if you are bringing existing software - two decades of expert advisors are written in MQL4 and none of them will run here.

Automation is supported: yes. There is API access (not prominently offered as a standard retail feature) for anyone connecting their own software. Copy trading is available through platform-dependent, which is the alternative to writing rules yourself.

Charting runs to Extensive MT5/TradeLocker charting. Additional tools include MetaTrader 5, TradeLocker. On mobile: MT5 and TradeLocker.

Markets, leverage and execution7.2/10

Focus Markets covers Forex, Commodities, Indices, Stocks, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies. That comes to 800+ instruments in total. On the currency side specifically it lists 50+ pairs. Breadth is worth less than depth in the markets you actually trade - a hundred instruments priced well beats a thousand you will never open.

Leverage runs to 1:1000 on the entity that offers most. That does not improve your expected return; it lowers the deposit a given position requires, and shortens the move needed to close you out. Our record for this broker reads "1:1000 international; 1:30 Australian retail FX", and the difference between those figures is the entity you are onboarded to rather than anything you can choose. Whatever the headline, the number that governs your position is the margin requirement on the specific instrument - it is always lower on shares and crypto than on major currency pairs.

Execution is market maker / hedged liquidity model, meaning the broker is the counterparty to your trade rather than routing it to an external venue. It is a legitimate and very common model, and it is worth knowing which one you are dealing with. Measured speed is not reliably published. Its servers sit in not prominently disclosed, which is what determines latency more than any software choice.

Order types available: market, limit, stop, stop-loss, take-profit and platform-specific pending orders. Stops and limits are table stakes; what separates platforms is whether the ones you rely on are there and how quickly they can be modified once a position is open.

Accounts

Account types run to standard, Raw, Access, Demo. There is no minimum deposit, so the account can be opened and tested with whatever you are comfortable risking. The smallest position it will take is 0.01 lots, which is what actually governs how precisely you can size risk on a small account.

A demo account is available, which is the cheapest way to find out whether the platform suits you. Swap-free Islamic accounts are offered. Professional classification is available for clients who qualify, which lifts leverage caps and lowers the protections that come with retail status - a trade rather than an upgrade. Opening takes online application, subject to verification.

Accounts can be denominated in 7 base currencies. Funding in the currency you trade removes a conversion charge from every position, which is a small saving repeated indefinitely.

Deposits and withdrawals

Deposits can be made by visa/Mastercard, bank transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Bitwallet, cryptocurrency and regional methods. They clear in instant 24/7 on many electronic methods.

Withdrawals go out by cards, bank transfer, Skrill, Neteller, Bitwallet, crypto. Expect finance review 1-2 business days. Check the withdrawal routes rather than the deposit ones. They are frequently not the same list, anti-money-laundering rules usually require funds to return the way they came, and the difference only becomes apparent at the point you want your money back.

Local payment methods include yes - which matters more than it looks if you are outside the broker's home market, since an international wire is slow and expensive compared with a domestic transfer.

Support and education6.9/10

Support runs 24/5, which covers the trading week but not the weekend - relevant if you hold positions through it, and particularly if you trade crypto. You can reach them by phone, email, live chat. Live chat typically answers in fast during trading week. Support is offered in multilingual/international.

On education: trading education, platform guidance and market content. Research output covers market information and platform-based analysis.

The company behind the brand

The company behind the brand is Focus Markets Global Limited, registered as 227720. It operates from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It launched in 2019, which makes it only about 7 years old - there is not yet much of a track record to examine, and that is a real consideration rather than a technicality.

It is independently owned rather than part of a larger group. It is privately held, so its finances are not published the way a listed group's are. Headcount is in the Approx. 10-50 range.

You may also see it under Focus Markets. Brands and legal entities rarely map one to one in this industry, and the name on the website is not always the name on the client agreement.