Brokers

IC Trading: In-Depth Review

IC Trading is a forex broker located in Mauritius and regulated by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (FSC). They offer a wide range of products to trade and invest in.

From accounts without no commissions, specially tailored for EAs and scalpers, to accounts made for discretionary day traders, and access to a social trading platform, this broker has a lot to offer.

In this article, you’ll get a review of this broker, including a deep analysis of all features offered that will help you to make a conscious decision if this is the right broker for you.

Here’s what you’re going to learn:

What Is IC Trading?

IC Trading is a forex broker located in Mauritius and has existed as a regulated broker since 2022.

With 2000+ trading instruments, leverage up to 1:500, and spreads starting at 0, this broker can potentially be a good option either for someone who is starting their trading career but also for seasoned traders.

What Can You Trade With IC Trading?

IC Trading Forex broker gives you much more than Forex. You get access to a wide range of instruments to trade. Here’s a detailed list of what you get.

Forex

First of all, and probably the most popular, you have the Forex currency pairs. From majors to minors and even exotics, a wide selection of 61 Forex currency pairs is available so you can start trading Forex with confidence.

Indices

Next, but not less important, we have Indices. These are actually my favorite instruments to trade. Their strong moves and high volatility make them a good option for traders, especially the ones who like to take some intraday trades or scalping.

On IC Trading, you have a selection of 25 indices available to trade. All the major ones are there, which include Nasdaq, S&P500, Dow Jones, Dax, FTSE, and many others.

The fact that they don’t charge you any commission to trade them is of great value.

Commodities

If you like to trade the gold that is used to make your watches and jewels, IC Trading has you covered too. With over 20 different commodities to trade, I’m pretty sure you’ll be well served with their menu.

Available as Spot and Futures CFDs, let’s see what exactly are the available commodity instruments for trading with IC Trading.

First, you have access to the metals market, where you can trade Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium.

If you are more into energy, you can choose to trade Crude Oil, Brent Oil, and Natural Gas.

And finally the agricultural instruments. Although it’s not one of the most popular markets, there’s still a niche of people who like and are good at trading them. If you’re one of those traders, I let you know that you can trade Sugar, Cotton, Coffee, Cocoa, Wheat, Corn, Soybean, and Orange Juice.

Stocks

No CFD broker is complete without a good selection of Stocks, and IC Trading is no exception.

The selection of stocks available to trade is wide. There are over 2100+ unique stocks that you can trade. All of them come from the US market (Nasdaq and NYSE exchanges) and from the Australian market (ASX exchange).

A very positive point is that you are eligible to earn dividends the same way as you’d earn if you traded the real stock instead of CFDs. If you’re an investor, this is something that should be really important for you when choosing a broker to trade stocks. How cool is that?

The only downside is that you don’t have access to other markets, like the EU or UK stock market.

Well, wait…

Although they don’t advertise it on the website, their MetaTrader platform shows a list of European and UK stocks. Nice surprise IC Trading!

Bonds

Bonds are really rare to find on Forex/CFDs brokers, and it’s good to find that IC Trading gives you a good selection of the most popular bonds in the world.

Among them, you can find bonds from the US like the US 10 Yr Treasury Note, US 5 Yr Treasury Note, and US Treasury Bond. Besides those, you can also trade Euro Bonds, UK Bonds, Japanese Bonds, and Italian Bonds.

And to make it even better, there are no commissions to trade them.

Futures

If you are a futures trader, IC Trading has you covered. Besides the indices that are available in a different category, you can trade Futures CFDs.

Huh, what does that even mean?

It means that you can trade futures contracts, as CFDs, priced directly from the underlying futures markets.

The futures contracts available are:

  • CBOE VIX Index Futures (VIX)
  • Brent Crude Oil Futures (Brent)
  • ICE Dollar Index Futures (DXY)
  • WTI Crude Oil Futures (WTI)

All with no commissions and deep liquidity.

Crypto

And finally, the cherry at the top of the cake. The instrument category that has grown more over the last years: crypto!

Would you like to be able to trade 7 days/week? Then crypto is for you.

21 of the most popular cryptocurrencies are available at the distance of a click. You can trade BTC, BCH, ETH, DASH, LTC, XRP, EOS, LINK, DOT, XLM, UNI, BNB, XTZ, ADA, and DOGE.

What Is The IC Trading Minimum Deposit?

To open a real account with IC Trading, you need to deposit a minimum of $200 or equivalent if you use a different currency.

You don’t need to deposit anything if you’re just trying the broker and testing a demo account. You can do it for as long as you need until you feel comfortable to deposit real funds.

But when you make the deposit, that’s when the real fun begins.

What About The IC Trading Leverage?

When you have an IC Trading account, the leverage you can use to trade will be different depending on the instrument that you’re trading but it can be as high as 1:500.

If you’re looking for a broker that provides high leverage, you just found one. Just don’t forget that leverage can work both ways for the good and for the bad. Trade responsibly and apply good risk management to stay away from trouble.

Let’s see how much leverage you can use with IC Trading on each specific instrument.

InstrumentLeverageMargin
Forex currency pairsup to 1:5000.20%
Indicesup to 1:2000.50%
Commodities – Metalsup to 1:5000.20%
Commodities – Energiesup to 1:5000.20%
Commodities – Agriculturalup to 1:1001.00%
Stocksup to 1:205.00%
Bondsup to 1:2000.50%
Futures CFD (VIX)up to 1:2000.50%
Futures CFD (others)up to 1:1001.00%
Cryptoup to 1:520.00%

IC Trading Reviews

IC Trading is a relatively new company, it doesn’t have many user reviews yet.

Is that bad?

Well, people are more compelled to review something when they don’t like it. Given the fact that there are no bad reviews, and only positive ones so far, I’d say it’s a good start.

Here’s one of them from Trustpilot:

Is IC Trading Regulated?

When you open an account with IC Trading, your account will have the regulation from where the broker is located. In this case, Mauritius, whose regulator is the FSC – Financial Services Commission of Mauritius.

In case you’re wondering if the regulation really exists, I went to search it for you. IC Trading is regulated under the name of Raw Trading (Mauritius) LTD, with a license number GB21026834 since 19/04/2022:

Platforms Supported By IC Trading

If you have used other Forex/CFD brokers before you know what are the most common and popular platforms. Well, IC Trading is no exception and you also have access to them so you won’t feel any difference if you decide to switch from your current broker to IC Trading.

Here are the platforms:

MetaTrader 4 (MT4)

The famous and award-winning platform MT4 is here. Probably the platform with more user-coded software available to date. From indicators to EAs or scripts. Almost any tool you need can be found or easily created when you use MetaTrader4.

If you want it on your phone, just download the Android or iOS version and you’re good to go.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5)

MT4’s big brother is here to stay. MT5 is the improved and upgraded version of MT4. This is the next-generation MetaTrader platform.

A fast platform with all you need to trade, which also includes a mobile version if you are of the mobile trading type.

cTrader

cTrader is a platform that has been gaining a lot of popularity over the last years, and even more after the appearance of prop trading firms.

Known for its speed and fast execution, it’s also a great choice among the IC Trading available platforms selection. Mobile and web versions are available.

When you use cTrader with IC Trading you also get access to a copy trading system that you can use to mirror top performer trading strategies.

What Account Types Can You Choose?

There are three main account types provided by IC Trading. They are the Raw Spread Account which can be of the cTrader or MetaTrader version, and the Standard Account.

Raw Spread Account (MetaTrader)

Probably the most popular one, with a very small or even zero spread, this is an account specially tailored for scalpers or being used with EAs.

On the other hand, you will have commissions on some symbols. These commissions only apply to Forex and Metals and are $3.5/side.

With this account type, you can have up to 200 positions open at the same time.

Raw Spread Account (cTrader)

This account is very similar to the previous one and as the name states, it uses the cTrader platform instead of MetaTrader.

It’s also a good option for EAs and scalpers and it has a big benefit. The commissions charged on this account type are smaller, only $3.0/side, which can make a big difference when you take a lot of trades.

And speaking about a lot of trades, with this account you can open up to 2000 positions at the same time. That’s 10x more than the MetaTrader version.

Similar to the previous account, the commissions only apply to Forex and Metals.

Standard Account

The Standard account was created thinking about discretionary traders.

The main advantage of this account when compared to the others is the lack of commissions. That’s right, you don’t pay any commission on anything if you’re using this account.

On the other hand, the spreads may be a bit bigger to compensate for the no-comission feature.

This account works with MetaTrader and can also have up to 200 positions open at the same time.

Islamic Account

This is not properly an account type, but rather a feature that any of the mentioned accounts may have.

Islamic accounts are also known as swap-free accounts and were created for clients who cannot earn or pay interest due to their religious beliefs. All the account types provided by IC Trading can be opened as an Islamic account.

IC Trading Contacts And Headquarters Location

IC Trading’s main offices are located in Mauritius.

You can use these contacts to get in touch with them:

  • Email: support@ictrading.com
  • Phone: +230 215 8013
  • Address: Suite 803, 8th Floor, Hennessy Tower, Pope Hennessy Street, 11328, Port Louis, Mauritius

If you prefer, there’s also a contact form on their website and a live chat too.

Accepted Payment Methods

IC Trading accepts a wide range of methods either to deposit or to withdraw.

You can do it in ten different currencies. Just choose the one that you use.

If you prefer there’s also an option to deposit in crypto. The accepted cryptocurrencies at the moment are ETH, BTC, USDC, and USDT.

Here’s a list of the most popular payment methods:

  • Credit and debit cards
  • PayPal
  • Neteller
  • Skrill
  • Wire Transfer
  • UnionPay
  • Crypto

Negative Balance Protection

Negative balance protection is not offered at the moment when you trade with IC Trading. This means that you are responsible for any money that you lose, even if it exceeds your deposits.

To protect yourself from a negative balance, you should be cautious with your trading. Avoid having over-leveraged positions overnight, especially during the weekend. That’s when big gaps may occur and execute your stop loss away from where it’s set. The same caution should be taken during high volatility moments, like news releases. Don’t use too much leverage at times when you may get yourself into trouble. That should be enough to keep you less exposed to big risks.

Margin Call and Margin Stop Out

Margin calls and margin stop-outs occur when the broker is trying to protect your account from big losses or even a negative balance.

On IC Trading the margin stop-out level is 50%.

Are you wondering what happens when you hit this level?

Well, it works like this: When the margin level falls to 50% of the required margin (margin stop-out level), the broker will try to close your positions automatically. Your account can still enter into a negative balance so you should try to avoid having a margin stop out as hard as possible.

Then we have the margin call.

Your account will be in a margin call when the margin level drops to 100% of the required margin to keep those positions open.

At this point, you receive a margin call. Your positions will turn yellow on your MetaTrader platform.

You have two options to choose from:

  • You take measures to reduce the risk that you’re exposed to. This can be done by closing positions or eventually hedging them, but this last one is not a great option.
  • You deposit additional funds on your account making your available margin increase.

Micro Account

A micro account is an account where you can trade using micro lots. Micro lots are equivalent to 1,000 units of the base currency, which is the same as trading with a 0.01 lot size.

All IC Trading account types have the option to trade with micro lots.

IC Trading Free VPS

If you use EAs or if you just like to have your platform available on a server, you can use a VPS with your IC Trading account.

The VPS is free, and there are three different options to choose from. Each of them gives you access to a VPS with a different performance level.

The only condition to get access to the free VPS is to trade a certain minimum amount of lots per month. The more you trade, the better the VPS you can get.

Is There An Inactivity Fee?

If you need to stop trading for a long period of time you have no reasons to worry.

You won’t be charged any inactivity fee and your funds will remain on your trading account.

So go on, enjoy your vacation, and get back to trading when you’re ready again.

Is IC Trading Legit?

Yes, IC Trading is a legit broker.

If you think they look like IC Markets, well, they do. The main difference is the leverage provided. When trading with IC Trading you don’t have the Australian and European leverage restrictions that may apply when you trade with IC Markets Australia or IC Markets EU.

And it’s not an IC Markets copycat scam as some people may think. They actually share the exact same liquidity provider, and although they are different companies, some of the people behind both companies may be the same.

Further investigation has been done by concerned traders and led to the same conclusion:

So, nothing indicates that you should be worried about IC Trading. It’s a legit and regulated broker that you can use to trade.

Hedging With IC Trading

There are no restrictions against hedging with your IC Trading account. Heding accounts are the default with them, meaning that you can open long and short positions, on the same symbol, and at the same time.

If you don’t like hedging accounts, there’s also an alternative. They are called the NET accounts. With these types of accounts, on each specific symbol, you can only have one single position in one direction.

Net accounts are especially useful when you want to be able to add and reduce your position size quickly.

Copy Trading and Social Trading

Both copy trading and social trading can be used.

The signals can come from any source you prefer. Either from the MQL5 website, Myfxbook, or even a trader you trust. Both MetaTrader and cTrader platforms are prepared for copy trading if that’s your thing.

Besides that, IC Trading also gives you access to Zulu. Zulu is a social trading platform that allows you to copy trades from 100k+ traders from all over the world.

You can rank those traders by performance, exposure, stability, or minimum equity necessary. Then just choose the ones you like and let the system do all the work for you.

It couldn’t be simpler than that!

Maximum Lot Size

When trading IC Trading forex currency pairs, your lot sizes start at 0.01 and can go up to 200.

If you trade other symbols, like indices, or metals, the maximum lot sizes may vary.

How Small Are The Spreads?

IC Trading has really small spreads. It’s one of the brokers out there with the best spreads. They start as low as 0 pips.

The spreads you get may vary depending on the account you choose. The Raw Spread accounts are the ones with the spreads starting at 0.

The Standard account has bigger spreads, but they are still small when compared to the vast majority of the Forex brokers. You can expect to have spreads starting at 0.8 pips when you trade with this account.

Minimum Withdrawal Amount

You can request to withdraw any amount from your trading account. There is no minimum.

The only condition is that you have that money available on your trading account, not being used to secure open positions margin.

Most of the withdrawal methods have no fees charged by IC Trading. However, some third-party entities may charge you fees. A possible example of this is international bank transfers. Please be aware of this before you proceed with your withdrawal request as you may receive less than what you were expecting.

What Countries Can Open Accounts With IC Trading?

The vast majority of the world is able to open an account. But there are some restrictions as expected.

Residents of the U.S., Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Japan, Iran, and North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea may have restrictions when opening an account.

Besides those, there are also restrictions to the OFAC-sanctioned countries. Check the list below:

IC Trading Alternatives

Here is a list of the best IC Trading alternatives:

Recap

  • IC Trading is a broker that allows you to trade Forex currency pairs, Energies, Metals, Indices, Crypto, Bonds, and Stocks.
  • You can start trading with a minimum of as low as $200
  • The popular MT4 and MT5 platforms are available to trade, as well as cTrader.

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