In this Admiral Markets UK review, we’re taking a closer look at this online broker’s offerings, including tradable instruments, costs and features. This online trading platform enables users in the UK to safely trade or invest in over 8,000 instruments, including forex, cryptocurrencies, indices, stocks, ETFs, bonds, and commodities.
The parent company, now rebranded as Admirals Group, was founded in 2001 in Estonia During its more than two decades of business, it has expanded into more than 145 countries. Admiral Markets UK Ltd, the UK branch, opened in 2012, and is licensed by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Continue reading for the pros, cons and features of this UK broker, to determine if it’s suitable for your trading or investment needs.
Our verdict on Admiral Markets UK
The broker’s greatest strength is it offers a little bit for nearly every type of trader. Admiral Markets has gradually expanded its product range beyond forex and contracts for difference (CFDs). Now, it also lists a wide scope of stocks and ETFs for direct investing.
We appreciated that while some brokers only support MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5, Admiral Markets gives access to both. Traders also have the option to add a Supreme Edition plug-in that offers additional research tools and indicators.
The platform gets high marks for its robust educational resources and market analysis tools, which are designed to support both beginner and experienced traders. We rate Admiral Markets for being beginner-friendly, from its free demo account, its focus on copy trading as well as for the transparency of its fees.
All-in-all, it’s a low-cost forex and CFD broker with a multifaceted offer, suitable for a diverse range of trading styles.
Pros and cons of Admiral Markets UK
Admiral Markets is a multi-asset broker that has gained popularity for its diverse offerings, particularly in forex, cryptocurrency and CFD trading. Here’s a breakdown of its pros and cons:
Pros
- Tier 1 regulation by the FCA in the UK
- More than 8,000 tradable instruments
- Access to MT4 and MT5 with their advanced features and tools
- Low fees, particularly for CFD trading
- Above-average amount of educational materials
- Copy trading program
- Free demo account
Cons
- Monthly inactivity fee of 10 euros
- Doesn’t accept US clients
- Demo account only offers $10,000 in practice money
Introducing Admiral Markets UK
Admiral Markets is a top-rated forex and CFD broker, giving access to more than 8,000 trading instruments on the MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms. With a low minimum deposit, competitive spreads, and extensive educational materials, it’s an appealing choice for both new and experienced traders.
Founded in Estonia in 2001, the parent company, now called Admirals, has grown into a global broker serving hundreds of thousands of active traders across the world, from Germany to India. It doesn’t currently accept clients from the US or Canada, though.
The group is based in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, while also operating offices in major cities across the globe, including London. The UK entity is called Admiral Markets UK Ltd and is licensed by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
An in-depth review of Admiral Markets UK
Let’s break down each of Admiral Markets UK’s features to see if the broker is a good fit for you.
Tradable instruments
The broker provides access to more than 8,000 financial instruments, giving clients access to a diversified range of asset classes from a single platform. That includes CFD trading on stocks, global indices, more than 80 forex pairs, commodities, bonds, and ETFs.
In addition to CFDs, which don’t involve owning the underlying assets, Admiral Markets offers direct investment in assets through their Invest.MT5 account.
This allows clients to buy and own more than 3,500 stocks and 200 ETFs from various global stock exchanges, making it a suitable option for long-term investors. This dual approach of providing both short-term CFD trading and long-term direct investing is a key feature that distinguishes Admiral Markets from many other brokers.
What can I trade at Admiral Markets UK?
CFD instruments:
Forex pairs The broker offers more than 80 currency pairs, including 5 majors, 23 minors and 54 exotics, with the following examples among them:
- Majors: EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY
- Minors: AUDCAD, EURCHF, GBPJPY
- Exotics: EURCZK, GBPPLN, USDMXN
The maximum leverage is 30:1 for the five major pairs and 10 major crosses (minor pairs where one member is either the EUR, GBP, JPY or CHF). For all other currencies, it’s 20:1.
Commodities Admiral Markets lists nearly 30 commodity CFDs. See the breakdown by type and some examples:
- Agricultural: Arabica coffee, Raw sugar, Cotton, Cocoa
- Commodity futures: Crude oil UK (Brent), Crude oil US (WTI), Robusta coffee, XAU (Gold)
- Energy commodities: BRENT, CRUDEOIL (WTI), Natural gas (US)
- Metals (precious and base metals): Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum, Palladium
The maximum leverage for gold is 20:1, on the rest of the commodities it’s 10:1.
Cryptocurrencies: The broker offers 30 cryptocurrencies as CFDs to trade (long or short), including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin (LTC), but doesn’t offer the underlying assets directly.
The max. leverage on cryptos is 2:1.
Indices Admiral Markets has 42 CFDs on stock indices, including these:
CAC40, DJI30 (Dow Jones Industrial Average, SP500 (S&P 500), GERMANY40 (DAX index)
Leverage varies by the underlying index. It’s either 20:1 or 10:1.
Share CFDs The broker has 2,892 CFDs on popular US and international stocks that trade on the various exchanges, Nasdaq, NYSE, Euronext, ASX, LSE, Xetra.
These share CFDs include:
Apple, Alphabet, BMW, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, Netflix, Novartis, Palantir, Super Micro Computer, Tesla
The maximum leverage allowed on share CFDs is 5:1, and so is on ETF and bond CFDs.
The broker notes that it offers dividends on some share CFDs held for a long time.
ETF CFDs: The broker offers 252 CFDs on the most-traded index-tracker and specialised exchange traded funds.
Bonds: The broker has two bond CFDs: on the 10-year US Treasury note and the 10-year German Bund.
What can I invest in at Admiral Markets?
The broker offers direct investing to its clients in the same range of shares and ETFs as above
Shares
It lists more than 4,000 US, UK, German, Australian, French, Swiss stocks to buy directly. As this gives the holder ownership of the assets, they will have voting rights and receive dividends where applicable.
ETFs
Clients can purchase about 250 ETFs for investing and portfolio diversification purposes. ETFs also tend to pay dividends.
Fractional investments:
Admiral Markets offers its users the opportunity to buy fractional shares and ETFs from as little as 1/100 of an asset’s share or unit price, at an investment of as little as €1 or $1.
It makes available more than 700 of the world’s leading stocks from the S&P 500, Nasdaq and DAX40 and a range of popular ETFs for fractional investing.
Trading platforms
Admiral Markets’ most prominent offerings are the industry-standard MT4 and MT5 platforms. MT4 is a good and simple choice for forex and CFD trading, known for its robust charting tools and a vast library of Expert Advisors for automated trading.
MT5 expands on this foundation by providing access to a wider range of instruments, including stocks and ETFs, along with more advanced technical analysis tools and additional pending order types.
To enhance the MetaTrader experience, Admiral Markets provides the Supreme Edition plug-in, which adds a host of powerful tools such as a Mini Terminal for streamlined order management, a Tick Chart Trader for precise analysis, and a Trading Simulator for backtesting strategies.
Mobile app
For traders on the go, the Admiral Markets mobile app provides a user-friendly and secure environment to monitor markets, manage positions, and conduct financial transactions directly from a smartphone or tablet.
The WebTrader is a browser-based MT5 platform for accessing the markets without any downloads, making it an excellent choice for trading from various devices.
How safe is Admiral Markets UK?
Admiral Markets is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), one of the most respected financial regulators in the world. This top-tier regulation ensures the broker adheres to strict rules designed to protect client money. A key FCA requirement is the segregation of client funds.
This means that all client deposits are kept in separate, segregated bank accounts at an EEA-regulated credit institution, completely isolated from Admiral Market’s own operating funds. This crucial measure ensures that the company cannot use client money for business activities. They are ringfenced and can be returned in the event of the firm’s insolvency.
Furthermore, as an FCA-regulated firm, Admiral Markets’ clients are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS provides compensation of up to £85,000 per client should the firm fail and be unable to return client funds.
Account Security
In addition to regulatory safeguards, Admiral Markets implements several security features to protect client accounts:
- Encryption: The broker utilizes encryption to protect sensitive data and financial transactions, ensuring information is transmitted securely.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA): Admiral Markets encourages clients to activate 2FA on their dashboards. This adds an extra layer of security, requiring a second form of verification in addition to a password to access the account.
- Negative-balance protection: This policy ensures that a client’s account balance cannot go into a negative, offering protection against market volatility and limiting potential losses to the deposited amount.
- Transparent policies: Admiral Markets maintains a transparent approach with detailed documents and policies on financial security, privacy, and order execution, providing clients with clear information on how their funds and data are handled.
Where else is Admiral Markets regulated?
The parent company, Admirals Group, has presence in multiple jurisdictions. Beside the FCA, which oversees Admiral Markets UK Ltd, the group holds licences from other regulators, including:
- The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), a globally reputable regulator.
- The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) for South Africa: important for business on the African continent.
- The Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA): The EFSA licence allows the company to provide services across the European Economic Area (EEA) through MiFID passporting.
- The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC): A key license for the broker’s European operations, providing another layer of regulatory oversight within the EU.
This strong regulatory framework positions Admiral Markets as a reliable and trustworthy platform for trading and investing.
Admiral Markets UK’s fees
Admiral Markets UK’s fees are pretty straightforward, but they vary by financial instrument and what type of platform you are using with the broker:
Trading fees at Admiral Markets
Spread:
The primary trading cost for most instruments, spreads are the difference between the buy (ask) and sell (bid) price. Admiral Markets offers competitive spreads that can vary by account type.
| Account type | Spreads |
| The Trade.MT5 account is spread-based | CFD spreads start at 0.5 pips on major forex pairs like EUR/USD. |
| The Zero.MT5 account is commission based | CFD spreads start at 0.0 pips and will change a commission for each trade. |
Commission:
It’s a fixed fee charged on top of spreads, primarily on the Zero account type (where spreads are non-existent or minimal,) and depend on the instrument types.
| Instrument type | Commission charged |
| Forex & metals | From $1.8 to $3.0 per 1.0 lot traded |
| Single share CFDs & ETF CFDs | From $0.02 per share, with a minimum fee |
| Stocks & ETFs (purchasing on the Invest.MT5 account) | Commissions start from 0.10% with a minimum fee, for example, from £1 for UK shares. |
| Cash indices | From $0.05 to $3.0 per 1.0 lot traded |
Overnight charge (or swap fee):
An interest charge or credit applied to positions held overnight. This fee is based on the interest rate differential between the two currencies in a pair and can be either positive or negative. The broker also charges or credits for positions held overnight in cryptocurrency, CFD stocks and CFD indices. All of these rates vary widely, so we’ve listed two of the most popular cases for each as examples.
Admiral Markets also offers an Islamic (swap-free) account, which instead applies an administration fee on certain instruments for positions held longer than three days.
Some examples of swap fees charged:
| Instrument type | Swap rate on GBP/USD in pips | Swap rate on EUR/USD in pips |
| Forex | Short: -0.509 Long: -0.372 | Short: +0.25 Long: -1.234 |
| Instrument type | Swap rate charged for Bitcoin/Euro | Swap rate charged for Bitcoin/US dollar |
| Cryptocurrency | Short: -0.05528 Long: -0.05583 | Short: -0.05528 Long: -0.05583 |
| Instrument type | Swap rate for British American Tobacco CFD | Swap rate for Barclays CFD |
| Share CFDs | Short: -0.00447 Long: -0.01664 | Short: -0.00447 Long: -0.01664 |
| Instrument type | Swap rate for Dow Jones Index (DJI30) | Swap rate for FTSE 100 |
| Cash indices | Short: +0.00333 Long: -0.01783 | Short: +0.00492 Long: -0.01747 |
Currency conversion fee:
A fee of 1% of the total amount is charged for internal transfers between trading accounts with different base currencies.
Non-trading fees at Admiral Markets UK
Minimum deposit:
The minimum deposit for the Invest.MT5 account is £1, $1 or €1. However, for the forex and CFD trading account types, the Trade.MT5, Trade.MT4 or Zero.MT5 and Zero.MT4 accounts, the minimum deposit is £250, $250 or €250.
Deposit fee:
Generally, Admiral Markets UK doesn’t charge a fee for depositing funds on your account.
Withdrawal fee:
The first withdrawal each month is free.
Subsequent withdrawals, however, incur a fee, which varies depending on the withdrawal method. Bank transfers have cost £10, $10 or €10 after the first free withdrawal. The charge for PayPal and e-wallets is 1%, but a minimum of 1 unit of your chosen currency.
Inactivity fee:
The broker charges a fee of €10 per month to live accounts that have been dormant for 24 consecutive months with no trading activity. The fee is not applied, though, if it pushes the account into a negative balance.
Account Opening Fee
Admiral Markets UK doesn’t charge a fee to open an account.
Educational resources, trading and research tools
Admiral Markets is widely regarded as having a very strong offering of educational resources for traders of all experience levels. Many Admiral Markets UK reviews by users highlight this as one of the key strengths of the broker.
Educational offer
Admiral Markets makes a significant effort to provide educational content that is not only abundant but also well-structured and accessible, helping traders build their knowledge and skills from the ground up. Some of the educational resources:
Articles and Tutorials: They offer a vast library of articles that are categorized by experience level (beginner, intermediate, and advanced).
These articles cover a wide range of topics, including forex trading basics, CFD trading, technical and fundamental analysis, risk management, and advanced trading strategies. There’s also a live news feed available on the site.
Webinars: Admiral Markets hosts frequent live webinars, often daily from Monday to Friday, featuring professional traders. These sessions cover a diverse set of topics, from daily market briefings and analysis to specific trading strategies.
They provide a live, interactive environment where traders can ask questions and learn directly from experts.
Video content: Admiral Markets has a YouTube channel with a series of videos, often referred to as the Admiral Markets Academy.
These videos are short, digestible tutorials that cover everything from basic trading concepts and platform tutorials (like how to use MetaTrader) to more complex topics like chart analysis and money management.
E-books and guides: The broker also provides free e-books and guides with in-depth information on various trading topics, allowing traders to learn at their own pace.
Trading and research tools
Admiral Markets provides plenty of tools for analysis and technical trading. Begin with the MetaTrader Supreme Edition, which is a free plug-in suite for MT4 and MT5 that includes a mini terminal for streamlined trade management with pre-set stop-loss, take-profit, and trailing stop orders.
The broker also has a tick chart trader that tracks price movements on a tick-by-tick basis. It has a trading simulator that allows traders to backtest manual strategies. The platform also has an indicator package, which is a collection of advanced indicators.
Admiral Markets offers a VPS service, which is particularly useful for traders who use automated algorithmic strategies, as it allows them to run their Expert Advisors (trading bots) 24/7 without connectivity issues.
These are some of the other analytical and educational tools:
- Premium analytics: A portal available to clients with a live account that offers a wealth of resources, including news feeds from Dow Jones, market sentiment analysis, and a research terminal.
- Forex calendar: Lists upcoming fundamental and economic events.
- Trading news: Live news feeds to stay updated on market developments.
- Market heat map: A visual tool that highlights market movements and helps traders identify overvalued and undervalued assets.
- Market sentiment: Provides a dashboard showing the aggregated positions of other traders (long vs. short).
- Trading central: A third-party tool available through the MetaTrader Supreme Edition that provides in-depth technical analysis and market insights from professional analysts.
- Trading calculator: A tool for calculating potential profits, losses, and margin requirements.
Features and user experience
Copy trading
Admiral Markets integrates copy trading functionality within its MetaTrader platforms (MT4 and MT5), popular choices among traders.
The company’s copy trading program allows subscribers to browse every signal provider’s win ratio, profit chart, average ROI and other data in their profile.
Subscribers can decide how much capital they want to invest with a specific trader. They have the option of automatically replicating that traders’ chosen moves in their account, including opening, closing and changing positions.
There’s a degree of flexibility as well. Users can adjust settings, and set stop loss or take profit orders according to their risk tolerance. The fees for copy trading vary by platform and only kick in when a profit is made on a trade.
Demo trading
The demo account is free to use, provides $10,000 in practice money and can be accessed through MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), WebTrader, and the Admiral Markets mobile app.
It’s good for 30 days, but after that time, if you sign up for an account with Admiral Markets, you can keep your demo account.
Fractional shares
Admiral Markets UK allows investors to buy fractional shares of stocks on the S&P 500, NASDAQ and GER40 as well as fractional shares of popular ETFs for as little as €1.
This enables investors to gain access to highly popular stocks or ETFs that might otherwise be too expensive for some investors to buy a single share of.
Admiral Markets mobile app
Admiral Markets has a mobile app that works on iOS or Android phones and was developed in-house. It allows users to execute trades, monitor the markets and manage their portfolios, just as they would on a desktop computer. It runs the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms.
The one downside is users say it has fewer charting options and timeframes. It has good security. It doesn’t share user data with third parties and requires two-factor authentication (2FA) and biometric authentication.
Admiral Markets UK customer satisfaction
Based on review platforms, Admiral Markets gets strong marks from customers for service and speed of execution. On Trustpilot, out of 1,989 reviews, the company had a score of 4.0 out of a possible 5.0.
One 5-star review said the user had been using Admiral Markets for more than a decade and had not experienced a single issue, finding the broker to be reliable, professional and customer-friendly.
Setting up an account with Admiral Markets UK, step by step
Setting up a trading account with Admiral Markets UK is a straightforward five-step process.
Create a dashboard account
Navigate to the Admiral Markets website and find the “Register” or “Open Account” button. You’ll be directed to a registration form where you will need to provide your personal details, including your name, email address, and a phone number. You will receive a verification code via SMS to confirm your phone number. You’ll need to accept the terms of use and confirm your details. This process creates your personal account management system, known as the Dashboard.
Choose and apply for an account
From your Dashboard, you will be able to choose the type of trading account you want to open. Admiral Markets offers various account types, such as Trade.MT4, Trade.MT5, Zero.MT4, Zero.MT5, and Invest.MT5, each with different features and minimum deposit requirements. The application form will require you to provide more detailed personal information, including your: country of residence, residential address, tax identification number, and passport number. You will also be asked to complete a suitability test, which is a brief questionnaire about your trading experience, knowledge, and financial situation. This is a standard procedure to assess if CFD trading is right for you.
Verify your identity and address
To comply with “Know Your Customer” (KYC) regulations, you must submit documents to verify your identity and proof of address. These include a copy of a valid photo ID, such as a passport or a government-issued ID card, and a document that is no older than three months and shows your full residential address, such as a utility bill or a bank statement. You can typically upload these documents directly through your Dashboard.
Wait for account verification
After submitting your application and documents, Admiral Markets will review them. The account verification can take up to 24 hours. Once your account is approved, you will receive an email with your new account details, including your login ID and server name.
Fund your account and start trading
Once your account is verified, you can log in to your Dashboard to deposit funds. Admiral Markets offers various deposit methods, including bank transfers, credit/debit cards, and e-wallets. The minimum deposit varies depending on the account type, but it’s generally around $100 for some accounts and $250 for others. After your funds have been processed, you can download the trading platform (MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5) and log in using your live account credentials to begin trading.
Conclusion
Admiral Markets UK, part of the global fin-tech Admirals Group, emerges as a robust and versatile broker. It caters to a broad spectrum of investors, from beginners to seasoned traders, through a comprehensive offering of more than 8,000 instruments.
Its regulator, the UK’s FCA, enforces stringent measures like the segregation of client funds. The broker’s commitment to security is evident through additional safeguards, like negative balance protection. Its participation in the FSCS investor compensation scheme gives its traders additional peace of mind.
While Admiral Markets has many advantages, including competitive fees, the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms’ Supreme Edition plug-in, and vast educational resources, there are a few notable drawbacks.
The broker charges a monthly inactivity fee, which could be a concern for those who trade infrequently. Additionally, while it offers a wide range of CFDs and thousands of direct stocks and ETFs, the lack of a tax-efficient stocks and shares ISA product may be a limitation for many UK investors.
FAQs
Is Admiral Markets a legitimate broker?
Is Admiral Markets a good broker in the UK?
Does Admiral Markets offer margin trading?
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Does Admiral Markets offer stocks and shares ISAs?
References
Admiral Markets educational offerings
