Admirals Review (2024)

Investments involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. *EU residents are not able to register with Admirals.

Founded in 2001, Admirals is an online forex and CFD brokerage that offers services to traders in numerous locations worldwide.

Considered a highly reputable broker, it falls under the corporate ownership of the Admirals Group. Each of its operating subsidiaries is heavily regulated under local jurisdiction.

This includes regulation by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA), and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

This Admirals review will highlight its services, products and fees, and address the advantages and disadvantages of Admirals as an online trading platform.

Who Would Benefit From Admirals?

Admirals does cater to professional traders; however, it is ideally suited to retail traders who are either beginners or advanced traders.

As a MetaTrader broker, it offers both MT4 and MT5.

These intuitive platforms are suited to anyone unfamiliar with the trading experience, with a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate.

However, if you do not enjoy using the MetaTrader suite, Admirals does not offer another option; therefore, you should reconsider using Admirals as a broker.

There is a broad range of educational resources available for free, and customer support is on hand during office hours through email, phone and live chat. This will be discussed later in this review.

This support is provided in multiple languages, making Admirals a global broker.

With competitive spreads on a wide range of financial instruments and low minimum deposits, it is an accessible platform with trading available on your market of choice.

Admirals Products and Services

There is a range of instruments on offer through Admirals, making it a good platform for traders looking to build a diverse portfolio.

It covers the top commodities to trade including metals, energies and agriculture, as well as offering CFDs on shares, indices, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and limited cryptocurrencies.

For forex traders, there are approximately 50 instruments to choose from across major, minor and exotic forex currency pairs.

Admirals’ products are diverse; however, it is worth considering that the instruments available to you will depend on your geographical location and the type of account you choose to open.

Admirals Platform Features and Tools

As well as being a MetaTrader broker offering clients MT4, MT5 and MetaTrader WebTrader, Admirals also offers the option of a free upgrade on all live accounts to its MetaTrader Supreme Edition, which comes with several additional tools and features.

MetaTrader 4

Available for download on both Windows and Mac and with a mobile version for Android and iOS, MT4 is an intuitive platform suitable for both beginner and experienced traders.

It is customizable to suit your trading style and has advanced functionality with automated trading, technical analysis, charting tools and real-time news.

MetaTrader 5

MT5 is a step up and builds on the functionality of MT4 with superior charting features, level II pricing and trading robots.

MetaTrader Supreme Edition

Worth particular note in our Admirals review is its MetaTrader Supreme Edition, available for download as a free upgrade on both MT4 and MT5 desktop versions.

With this option, you get all the features of the standard platforms, enhanced by several additional tools, including:

• Global opinion – Designed for forex traders, this library of widgets provides customizable market alerts and gauges displaying market sentiment.
• Trading Central – This feature uses pattern recognition technology for in-depth analysis in real-time, facilitating well-informed trading decisions.
• Mini Terminal and Trade Terminal – Mini Terminal allows you to open up a single trade for quick access, with the ability to adjust preset parameters like stop loss and take profit. Trade Terminal offers the same functionality but with access to your complete portfolio.
• Trading Simulator – Test out your strategies using historical price data and market movement.

Admirals Account Types

Admirals has two account types available for the MT4 platform and three account types for MT5.

In the first instance, you can choose between Trade.MT4 and Zero.MT4.

The most notable difference between the two is that Trade.MT4 is Admirals’ commission-free account. You will pay zero commission on all instruments other than ETF CFDs, with spreads from 0.5 pips.

With the Zero.MT4 account, a commission is applied; however, spreads are more competitive, usually around 0.1 pips but starting at 0 pips.

You will also find a difference in the instruments available for trade and the maximum order size for forex with Trade.MT4 allowing for 100 lots, Zero.MT4 200.

Other than that, they both offer the same leverage with the same minimum deposit requirements.

Both account types also allow forex hedging if this forms part of your strategy.

Trade and Zero accounts are also available for MT5 with the same features as those for MT4 but with the added functionality of the more advanced platform.

There is also the Invest.MT5 account for professional traders dealing in stocks.

Admirals Commissions and Fees

As mentioned, both Trade.MT4 and Trade.MT5 are commission-free accounts, meaning you will pay zero commission on all instruments traded bar ETF CFDs.

The commission here is applied from 0.02 USD per share.

On Zero.MT4 and Zero.MT5, commission varies on the instrument in question.

As a representative example, commission on forex ranges between 1.8 to 3.0 USD per 1.0 lots and 0.05 to 3.0 USD per 1.0 lots for cash indices.

Like all online brokers, Admirals makes its money on spreads; however, these are typically very competitive, even with its commission-free accounts.

With such a broad range of instruments available, it is impractical to list average spreads in this Admirals review; however, this is easily located on the Admirals website beneth the contract specification of each instrument.

For deposits, Admirals is one of a handful of brokers that accept PayPal, along with bank transfers, Visa and Mastercard deposits, all with zero fees.

If you wish to use Skrill or Neteller to fund your account, a 0.9% charge will apply here.

Withdrawal methods do incur a fee, but these are not listed on Admirals’ site.

For a full breakdown of its fee structure, check its terms and conditions on opening an account.

Admirals Research and Education

In this Admirals review, this broker ranks well for the breadth and quality of educational resources on offer.

For beginner traders, its FAQ section and traders glossary will help you get to grips with the basics.

You will also find a comprehensive library of articles and tutorials on topics, including strategy, fundamental analysis, trading psychology, automated trading and risk management, as well as regularly hosted live webinars.

If you are looking for a more in-depth educational program, Admirals’ Zero to Hero is a free 20-day course delivered by professional trading coaches.

This covers everything from the fundamentals of trading to putting techniques into real-world practice.

Lessons are available through on-demand video, with one live session and Q&A included.

Admirals has also recently launched its Forex 101 program. Again, this is a free virtual course split into beginner, intermediate and advanced sections with three lessons in each.

You can access the first three sessions without an account; however, you will need a demo account for the remaining six.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Admirals

We have compiled a list of the top advantages and disadvantages to help you decide if this broker is right for you.

Admirals Advantages

• Highly regulated – Admirals is regulated by the FCA, cySEC, the EFSA and the ASIC, as well as under The Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFID II). Therefore, its operations are tightly controlled and regularly audited.

• Advanced trading tools – Admirals prides itself on the functionality it offers clients. Its range of analytical resources and, in particular, its free MetaTrader Supreme Edition upgrade gives you a valuable kit of advanced trading tools to make well-informed decisions.

• Account protection – In addition to the protections afforded through regulation, Admirals also provides negative balance protection, mitigating risk should your account incur severe losses that outweigh your deposited funds.

• Low trading fees – This broker offers some of the most competitive spreads on the market, improving your chances of turning a profit, particularly if you’re a beginner working with limited funds.

• Free demo account – If you’re new to trading or want to experience Admirals without risk, you can open a free 30-day demo account.

Admirals Disadvantages

• No US clients – Unfortunately, Admirals does not hold a US license and is, therefore, unable to accept US citizens as clients.

• Inactivity fee – Any account with a positive balance remains inactive for 24 months will incur an inactivity fee of $10 per month. Not such an issue if you plan to trade regularly, but something worth keeping in mind.

• Minimum deposit of $100 – Regardless of whether you opt for a Trade or Zero account, you will need to fund it with an initial deposit of $100. This is low compared to some online brokers; however, it could prevent entry to those just starting.

How to Set up an Account With Admirals

Opening an account with Admirals should take no more than 10 minutes of your time.

The high level of regulation means that all new clients must pass compliance; therefore, you will need to upload one piece of photographic identification and one-piece proving your residential address.

Alongside this, you will be asked a few standard questions about your trading experience and be required to read through the information that ensures you understand the risk involved.

You will also need to fund your account with the required $100 initial deposit.
Compliance checks can take several days to approve; therefore, keep in mind that while you will have access to all Admirals has to offer, you will not be able to begin trading until your checks have been completed.

Final Thoughts

Admirals is a reputable broker that offers traders competitive spreads on a wide range of financial instruments.

Its educational resources give beginner and intermediate traders alike the knowledge they need to make well-informed trades, while its MetaTrader Supreme adds valuable functionality to the MetaTrader platforms.

While this broker and its services rank well, this Admirals review is not intended as financial advice, and you should exercise due diligence before creating an account with any online broker.

If you are not a UK resident the conditions might change depending on the regulation. Please, check the Admirals website for details.

Please, be aware that if you want to see UK conditions but you don't have a UK IP address, then you must select Admirals Markets UK at the bottom of the home page.

WikiJob does not provide tax, investment, or financial services and advice. The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal.