FBS was first established in 2009 and currently serves millions of customers from 190 different countries. In the market, this broker has successfully won the heart of 13 million traders and is trusted by 370 thousand of partners from various countries.

fbs pros and cons

FBS Holdings, Inc., also known as FBS Broker is an online forex & CFD broker based in Belize. The company was first established in 2009 and is a regulated broker operating under the strict supervision of Belize IFSC (International Financial Services Commission). They are also registered with an additional license from CySEC Cyprus, holding License Number 331/17.

According to their claim, the FBS broker consistently gets around 7,000 new traders and partner accounts every day. Thanks to this extraordinary growth in the number of clients, it is no wonder this broker continues to grow rapidly.

FBS consistently won international awards. For example, FBS currently owns several awards such as Best Broker in Asia-Pacific Region 2015, Most Transparent Broker in Asia 2018, Best Copy Trading Application Global 2018, Most Progressive Forex Broker Europe 2019, and many others.

For forex trading, FBS offers a leverage of up to 1:3000. As for spreads, FBS provides 2 options to suit various trading strategies of each trader: floating spreads (from 0.2 pips) and fixed spreads (from 3 pips).

 

Types of Accounts in FBS Broker

One of the main reasons people choose to trade in FBS broker is the minimum requirements to enter the market. FBS sets the minimum deposit required to open an account to as low as $1. There are two options available for small traders to open an account, which include the Cent accounts and the Micro accounts. The Cent account starts at a mere $1 deposit, while the Micro account starts a bit higher at a $5 initial deposit.

In addition to the really small amount for an initial deposit, both accounts offer you a reasonable amount of spreads. The Cent account offers a spread starting from 1 pip while the Micro account has fixed spreads starting from 3 pips. The maximum leverage offered is different for both accounts. The Cent account has a maximum leverage of 1:1000 while the Micro account has a maximum leverage of 1:3000.

The Cent account is certainly the most valuable proposition for new forex traders due to its reduced cost of trading. On the contrary, the Micro account which has a fixed spread of 3 pips is higher than the average Micro account's spread in the market today. Traders with a higher amount of deposit (let's say approximately $100) can take advantage of the Standard account, which has all the features of the Micro account with tighter spreads of 1 pip.

FBS Broker also offers an ECN account, which they present as a Zero Spread account. This means traders who open this type of account is allowed to enjoy trading with 0 pips in spreads, at the cost of a commission of $20 per lot. The minimum deposit required to open up an ECN account is $500, while the leverage is set at a maximum of 1:3000.

The last type of account in FBS Broker is called the Unlimited Account. This type of account is usually reserved for institutional and professional traders. The maximum leverage allowed is 1:500 along with floating spreads starting from as low as 0.2 pips. There is no commission and the initial deposit starts from $500. In our opinion, the Unlimited account is the best type of account to open in FBS Broker, due to its high speed of trade execution, lower cost of trading, favorable trading conditions, and comparatively lower leverage. In addition to these live accounts, FBS is also equipped with a demo account.

FBS utilizes the MT4 and MT5 trading platforms for accessing the FX markets on both desktop and mobile devices. The FBS trading platforms are connected to high-speed servers, and the mobile platforms are available as downloadable MT4 apps on the AppStore and Google Play. FBS traders can also use the MT4 Web Trader for easier access through an internet browser.

Now that we all have learned about FBS brokers, we have listed the pros and cons of FBS brokers to help you decide whether you need to start and open a trading account in FBS today.

 

Pros of FBS Broker

Commission-free trading is available
The more favorable trading cost is the low one. If one can be charged only with spread and no commission, then it is certainly better than having to be charged with both spread and commission. In this case, FBS offers a favorable condition where traders can just trade with low spreads.

ECN accounts are available
Just because FBS is a forex broker targeted for retail traders, doesn't mean it can't provide a professional trading condition like ECN specification. In fact, the broker has been offering an ECN account for a few years with no trading limits and a commission of $6. The spread is also ultra-competitive as it is offered from -1 pips.

Can trade on MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and FBS Trader
Platform trading variety is an important parameter that indicates a broker's commitment to providing the best trading tools to clients. For this matter, FBS is considered one of the leading forex brokers in offering optional platforms. The best part is that the FBS trading platforms are available on various types and devices.

FBS CopyTrade is available for traders and investors
Another advantage of FBS that traders should consider is the in-house CopyTrade application they provide. This application allows traders to copy trading strategies from professionals. Copy trading will be truly beneficial for busy traders who don't have much time to analyze market conditions.

Luxurious bonus and promotions
FBS offers a lot of luxurious bonuses and different promotions for traders, easily dwarfing bonuses and promotions offered by other brokers in the market. One of the most popular promotions in FBS Broker is the no-deposit bonus. Even when you have no money to invest, you can still start trading forex & CFDs in FBS Broker. It is directly available for clients to trade in their accounts.

The fast customer lives chat service
FBS broker puts great importance on customer service as a way to get new clients and maintain their loyalty. They also expand the service to reach a global audience by providing live support in various languages to complement their penetration into other countries markets.

 

Cons of FBS Broker

A limited number of tradable assets
FBS Broker does provide an extensive list of the 78 most favorable assets ranging from forex up to stocks and CFDs. Crypto is also available in FBS. In the most recent update, you can expect to find 28 forex pairs, including the major and minor pairs as well as 9 exotic pairs, 5 metal assets, 3 CFDs, and 33 US stocks in the platform for you to trade.  Yet, if compared to other brokers in the same league as FBS, the asset offering is actually quite limited.

 

Countries and areas of trade
Due to legal restrictions from specific countries, FBS Broker is not allowed to have clients originating from the following countries: USA, UK, Japan, Israel, Canada, Brazil, Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The restriction might be a partial restriction such as having limited access to several features and products from FBS Broker, to a total restriction such as any access to the platform itself. If you need to find a trading broker in the specified countries, you might need to look elsewhere.

 

The licenses are offshore-based
Despite acquiring the CySEC license, which is a step up from IFSC Belize's license, FBS broker hasn't been registered to any onshore jurisdiction yet. Due to CySEC restrictions in leverage and bonus offers, the majority of FBS' offerings to its global clients are directed to the one under IFSC's jurisdiction.

 

No mention of segregated client funds in the Terms and Conditions
According to a review from FXEmpire, there have been no mentions of the segregated funds in the broker's T&C. It can be a warning sign especially if fund safety is your top priority. Now, FBS is an established broker that has been operating for more than 10 years, and its experience proves that there have been no major problems regarding clients' funds that lead to mass reporting that threatens the broker's existence. However, it doesn't hurt to have a segregated system to separate clients' funds from the broker's operational fund, to ensure that they manage their finance properly and doesn't use the client's funds to their benefit.