LCG Review Of A Publicly Traded Forex Broker In The London Stock Exchange
LCG, or London Capital Group, has been involved in the financial markets since 1996 and is considered to be one of the top financial brokers in the UK. The group was primarily launched as a financial holding company, which moved into the business of stock brokerage in early 2000. Today, LCG offers direct market access to its investors for investing in a broad range of financial assets, ranging from Forex, commodities, metals, shares, indices, and bonds.
LCG has the distinction of being one of the very few online FX brokers in the world that are listed on a major stock exchange, which ensures that the company makes it a priority to adhere to several regulatory protocols for maintaining the integrity of the UK financial markets.
What Makes LCG Different?
- Involved in the financial markets since 1996
- Up to 1:500 leverage
Contact Info
- Website: www.lcg.com
- Support: +44 (0) 207 456 7020
- Address: 1 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7LX, UK
London Capital Group is a leading spread betting and CFD provider in the UK that is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Naturally, all FCA regulated brokers are covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which assures investors a guaranteed sum of £50,000, if a broker falls into bankruptcy. Since London Capital Group is publicly traded on the LSE, it is also vital for the company to adopt several measures according to existing rules and regulations that are designed to prevent any instances of financial frauds or other malicious activities. LCG regulation with the FCA is one of the main advantages of the company that aims to become an established leader in the European financial markets, where the retail trading arena is filled with numerous high-quality brokers from different parts of EU. FCA is a part of the European MiFID, which allows LCG to enjoy the authority and sufficient licenses to cater to investors all over Europe without any additional regulatory requirements. Traders can open a trading account at London Capital Group with a relatively smaller minimum deposit, but if you are looking for an LCG bonus, you should make a deposit of at least €500 into your trading account. Traders are eligible for a 10% deposit on their initial bonuses for a maximum bonus of €10,000, which can be withdrawn after satisfying different trading conditions. All client funds are held in segregated accounts at tier-1 banks in the UK, which guarantees the safety and security of funds from any misuse. The FCA makes it a priority to track the financial activities of all companies registered under the UK regulatory framework, which makes it virtually impossible for any business to utilize client funds for any of its internal operations.
What Do I Receive With An LCG Account?
A London Capital Group trading account is designed to provide direct ECN/Straight-Through-Processing access to the financial markets, which is done by connecting traders to top tier liquidity providers through ECN bridges. There are two different types of LCG trading platforms, the LCG Trader and the MT4 interface, which connects traders to the market through ECN protocols without the use of any dealing desk. ECN accounts are highly preferred due to the excellent trading conditions, which are not offered by traditional dealing desk or market maker brokers.
The LCG Trader is a proprietary trading platform that provides access to more than 5000 different instruments from 7 different asset classes. The LCG platform has an excellent interface that provides an aesthetic and functional dashboard for trading all the financial assets furnished by the broker. The MT4 platform, on the contrary, is offered for traders that are only looking to trade FX currency pairs, spot metals, and commodities using the tried and tested MT4 ECN platform. Both platforms have great speeds and connectivity, which are further reinforced by connecting traders to top liquidity providers for the best price feeds, lowest latency, and fastest order execution. London Capital Group offers one of the most attractive spreads in the market, which is another beneficial aspect of an ECN account. However, unlike most of the other ECN brokers, all commissions and fees of trading are incorporated in the LCG spreads.
Typical spreads start from 1 pip on the EURUSD and GBPUSD currency pairs, while other currency pairs may witness further spreads that may fluctuate according to market conditions. Since the commissions are already included in the raw spreads, traders need not worry about any other hidden fees or associated costs. The company also offers a VIP option, which guarantees 0 spreads at the expense of a small commission, which is only provided for clients depositing more than $25,000 in trading funds. Although there are no minimum deposit requirements, traders are required to deposit and maintain at least $10,000 for an ECN account, failing which, traders are demoted down to a standard STP account. The STP account does not have all the privileges of an ECN account, which can make matters worse for traders looking for the best ECN conditions. In our opinion, we believe that the higher capital requirements can prove to be immensely expensive for smaller clients.
Other ECN brokers in the market can provide an ECN account for a small deposit of just $1 with similar trading conditions. In fact, it is evident that LCG is targeting institutional clients and wealthy investors, who are more prone to investing massive amounts of trading capital, which will bring in additional revenue by way of interest and other trading costs. LCG clients can use a maximum leverage of 1:500 on major currency pairs, 1:300 on minor currency pairs, 1:100 on commodities and CFDs, and 1:40 on shares and indices. Traders can access the LCG Trader and the MT4 trader on mobile devices by downloading the respective London Capital Group mobile apps that are available through the iOS and Android stores. Mobile traders can also take advantage of the Web Trader, which is available for both MT4, as well as the LCG trading interfaces.
What Are The Other Aspects Of LCG?
LCG offers an Islamic trading account for traders following Muslim ideals and beliefs, which eradicate any SWAPs of interest rates for overnight trades. The broker also provides promotions, bonuses, and rebates to lure clients in with promises of handsome rewards, but overall, retail traders might find LCG to be a bit out of their reach under normal trading conditions. Traders can get in touch with the respective customer service departments directly by calling the numbers provided on their website, or through emails, live chat, and web contact forms. London Capital Group is a highly reputable financial broker in the industry, but other alternatives should provide the same services at a fraction of the cost.
