Baron Forex Review

I came across a unique MT4 broker about a month ago called Baron Forex. I generally like to try out places that offer something different from the standard fare. Baron Forex is headquartered in Belize, which in itself could be seen as a disadvantage from a legitimacy standpoint, but they are regulated by the IFSC. The fact that they are located in Belize also has other advantages due to its offshore location.

The two main draws that Baron Forex has is that they offer options as well as spot forex trading, and that they offer fixed spreads (under all market conditions) that are quite low compared to other market makers who keep their spreads fixed. Normally, most market makers who give their clients fixed spreads do so at the expense of a few extra pips and/or poor execution in illiquid markets. I have not noticed this while trading with Baron Forex - I even got filled without slippage on my stop loss order during the NFP release yesterday (not that I was particularly happy about it, but that's how it goes sometimes - at least my order was filled at the price I set).

I have not tried making any withdrawals yet so I can't comment on how successful that will be. I am experiencing a bit of a drawdown over the past few weeks, so chances are I won't be making a withdrawal any time soon anyway :). I don't foresee any problems, but I was a bit disappointed with the lack of withdrawal methods available and the associated fees - unless you trade high monthly volume, they will charge your for wire transfers and CC withdrawals, and those are the only 2 methods available. I would suspect that they will add a few more deposit/withdrawal methods in the near future. Baron Forex has only been around since 2008 so they probably still have a few kinks to work out in their back office.

Finally, Islamic traders can be accommodated with swap-free accounts, but again, extra charges do apply unless you trade high monthly volumes. They really do make every effort to increase clients' trading volume, which is understandable considering it's their bread and butter.

Overall, I would say that news traders should take advantage of the trading conditions on offer here: the combination of low, fixed spreads and excellent execution probably won't be around for long. Once they see the risk that exposes them to, they are bound to change some part of that deadly cocktail.

PROS:
Well-known MT4 platform;
Regulated offshore broker;
Low, fixed spreads;
News traders' and scalpers' best friend;
Great execution even in illiquid conditions (NFP!);
Trade options as well as spot FX;

CONS:
Haven't been around very long (2008);
Not many deposit/withdrawal methods;
Can't trade anything less than a mini-lot (10,000 units);

Quick Facts:
Headquarters in Belize;
Metatrader 4 (MT4) platform;
2 pip fixed spread on EUR/USD;
Established in 2008;

If you are interested in opening an account at Baron Forex, please click here.

AvaFX Review

If you are looking for an offshore forex broker, I would recommend giving AvaFX a chance. AvaFX is a recent entrant into the forex arena, but has built a solid reputation among traders. Over the past few weeks, I found out first hand why that's the case. Although the company is not regulated by any government body, it is audited by Ernst & Young, which adds a layer of legitimacy to it. It is also owned and operated by a large instituion - Clal Finance Ltd., with over $17 billion under management. This is also where the liquidity comes from.

To be quite honest, I could find no serious flaws with any aspect of AvaFX. Maybe it's because of the nightmare I had with the last broker I reviewed, but I don't think so. Everything I tried seemed to work well - even extremely fast trading is accepted, which is fairly unusual for a market maker, particularly one that fixes their spreads. There were some execution problems as a result of the fixed spreads during fast market moves, but this is to be expected.

The fact that Islamic friendly no-swap accounts are available at no extra charge, and to the general public (no need to "prove" your religion) is a bonus to those seeking this type of account. There is also a wide range of instruments at your disposal, from a few exotic spot currency pairs to quite a few commonly traded CFDs. A wide variety of deposit and withdrawal methods are available, and no administrative fees apply to any transactions (although there is a $500 minimum wire transfer withdrawal limit). All transaction methods are listed in "Quick Facts" below.

Depending on your trading preferences, you can choose between 3 platforms:

1. Ava Trader - a downloadable trading platform, which is the most stable;
2. AvaJava - a Java platform which runs in your browser and is Mac compatible;
3. AvaMobile - an i-Mode or WAP application that can run on any internet capable mobile phone;

PROS:
Stable, functional, versatile platform;
Fixed Spreads;
Loads of tradable instruments, including many common CFDs;
Swap-free "Islamic" accounts avalable with no extra charges;
Offshore location;
Financially stable ownership;
Excellent customer support;
Large bonus for first deposits (up to $1,200 in free cash);

CONS:
Unregulated broker;
Mediocre liquidity and execution;
In business only since 2006;

Quick Facts:
Offices in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cyprus;
Deposits/withdrawals by Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa, Moneybookers, NETeller, PayPal, WebMoney and Wire Transfer - all with no fees;
Maximum Leverage 200:1;
Minimum trade size 5,000 units (0.5 mini lot);
Fixed spreads, EUR/USD spread 3 pips (0.0003);
AvaFX customer support available in Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish;

If you would like to open an account at AvaFX, please click here. Thanks for stopping by!