ACY Securities Broker Review

Is ACY Securities Safe?

Yes, although Filipino traders will be trading under ACY Securities’ subsidiary incorporated in Vanuatu, it is also regulated by top-tier authority, ASIC. Filipino traders are also provided with negative balance protection.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Australia, ACY Securities has grown to become a large multi-asset financial company offering trading on over 1600 instruments. As an international broker, it is authorised and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC).  See below for details:

• ACY Securities Pty Ltd (‘ACY AU’) is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC AFSL: 403863).
• ACY Capital Australia Limited (‘ACY LTD’), ACY LTD is incorporated in Vanuatu, company number 012868, and is regulated by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC).

Filipino traders will be trading under the subsidiary, ACY Capital Australia Limited (ACY LTD), incorporated in Vanuatu and regulated by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC).  

Unlike more reputable regulators such as ASIC in Australia, or the FCA in the UK, VFSC-regulated brokers are not required to segregate client funds from their operating capital or offer their traders negative balance protection.  Additionally, brokers only need to submit regular financial reports once a year.  

Essentially, this means that the VFSC does not involve itself in the client protection business. At most, they may release warnings against companies that are found to have repeatedly violated the rules. But if you enter a dispute against VFSC-registered brokers, you cannot expect the agency’s assistance to mediate or get your money back.

However, although Filipino traders may be apprehensive about trading under a subsidiary that is unregulated, ACY Securities deposits all client funds in top-tier, well-capitalised banks, separate from the company’s operating funds.  Additionally, ACY Securities is also regulated by a top-tier regulator, ASIC, providing another level of regulatory oversight. 

Filipino traders are afforded negative balance protection, but this is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.  

ACY Securities has won numerous awards for its services and offering over the years, further burnishing its credentials as a safe broker.  These include: 

• Premium /Multi-Asset Broker in Asia 2020 (FX168 2020 Brokers Billboard Annual Awards)
• Best Partner Program 2020 (World Finance Forex Awards)
• Best Multi-Asset Broker in Australia 2020 (Technology Era)
• Best Forex Broker 2018 (International Business Summit Malaysia)
• Influential Forex Broker (China Financial Online).

Lastly, ACY Securities offers ultra-fast order execution, liquidity from 16 global banks, direct access to Equinix Servers in New York and Asia, and a No Dealing Desk system. These measures ensure that traders have access to a fast, efficient and transparent trading environment.

Overall, even though ACY Securities Filipino traders will be trading under a subsidiary with little regulatory oversight, it maintains regulation from ASIC, segregates all client money at top-tier banks, and provides negative balance protection on a discretionary basis. We, therefore, consider ACY Securities a trustworthy broker. 

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Trading fees

ACY Securities’ trading fees are average on its Standard Account but significantly lower than average on its ProZero and Bespoke accounts.

ACY Securities offers three live accounts on the MT4 and MT5 platforms (click here for more on ACY Securities trading platforms).  The Standard Account has trading fees included in its variable spreads, while the ProZero and Bespoke accounts offer raw spreads (often down to 0 pips on the EUR/USD) in exchange for a commission per lot. 

ACY Securities’ fee structure is transparent, and it publishes all the spread and commission costs associated with either account.

ACY Securities’ accounts were assessed to compare the costs to those of other forex brokers.  The costs were evaluated based on the trading fees on one lot (100 000 USD) on the EUR/USD, including the spreads and commission.  

When making this calculation, we used one lot of EUR/USD as a benchmark as it is the most commonly traded currency pair and it usually has the tightest spread.

Trading Cost Formula: Spread x Trade Size + Commission = Cost in Secondary Currency (USD):

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As you can see from the table above, the trading costs on the Standard Account are built into the spread and are higher than the costs on the ProZero and Bespoke Accounts, which have a small commission per lot traded.  However, the minimum deposit on the Standard Account is significantly lower than the requirements of the ProZero and Bespoke accounts.

In a further twist, commission costs will also change depending on your account currency on the MT4 and MT5 platforms.  For more details, see the accounts section.

Overall, these trading costs are excellent compared to other good international brokers, which have a trading cost of around 9 USD per lot of EUR/USD traded.  

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Broker

Trading Conditions

Base Currencies

EURUSD (Standard)

Trading Cost (Standard)

EURUSD (Best)

GBPUSD (Best)

USDJPY (Best)

Commission

ACY Securities

4.5/ 5

USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, NZD, CAD, JPY

1.00 pips

USD 10

0.30 pips

1.60 pips

1.20 pips

USD 0

FXCC

5/ 5

EUR, USD, GBP

0.60 pips

USD 6

0.40 pips

0.40 pips

0.40 pips

USD 0

InstaForex

2/ 5

USD, EUR, RUB

3.00 pips

USD 30

3.00 pips

3.00 pips

3.00 pips

USD 0

Swap Fees

Another important cost to consider is the swap rate charged on positions held overnight.   Interest is paid (or received) for each night a position is held. When trading a currency, you are borrowing one currency to purchase another. The swap interest fee is calculated based on the difference between the two interest rates of the traded currencies.  ACY Securities’ swap fees are reasonable, with a swap rate of -3.75 on a long position, and -0.34 on a short position.  

Overall, ACY Securities provides an extremely competitive pricing environment. 

ACY Securities Non-trading Fees

ACY Securities‘ non-trading fees are lower than other international brokers.

Some of the most overlooked trading costs are the non-trading fees that are charged by brokers.  These fees can significantly affect your profitability and so should be carefully scrutinised.

ACY Securities does not charge any deposit or inactivity fees, but it charges fees for withdrawals under certain circumstances.   For example, a fee of 25 USD is charged per withdrawal via bank wire transfer.  

Overall, although fees are charged for bank wire transfers, these non-trading fees are lower than those of other brokers. 

Opening an Account at ACY Securities

ACY Securities’ account-opening process is as per the industry standard. 

All Filipino traders are eligible to open an account at ACY Securities as long as they meet the following minimum deposit requirements.  These are:

• Standard account: 50 USD
• ProZero Account: 200 USD
• Bespoke Account: 10,000 USD

Traders can choose between a business or individual account, but for the purposes of this review, we will outline the process for opening an individual account:

1. Click on the button at the top right-hand corner of the screen labelled “Open an Account.”

2. Register a live account.  This requires filling in a registration form with all your personal details including your name, email address, and telephone number.  

3. The next step requires completing your personal details, including gender, ID number, date of birth, and residential address.

4. Traders will then have to fill in their financial information, including employment details, occupation, and annual income.  Traders will also have to select their preferred platform (MT4 or MT5), base currency (click here for more on ACY Securities’ base currencies), account type, and leverage.

5. Once this step is complete, clients are required to fill out a questionnaire that helps ACY Securities assess the trader’s investment knowledge, experience, and expertise to deem the suitability and relevance of the services on offer. While most brokers don’t include this step in the account-opening process, it is a responsible move in an industry that is often accused of an irresponsible approach to consumer protection. 

6. Traders will then have to verify that they have read the Key Information Statement, the Client Terms and Conditions, and the Privacy Policy Statement.

7. ACY Securities requires at least two documents to accept you as an individual client:

1. Proof of Identification – ACY Securities accepts all government-issued identification documents such as Passport, national ID card, driving license, or other government-issued ID. 

2. Proof of Address – Proof of residence/address document must be issued in the name of the account holder within the last 6 months and must contain a trader’s full name, current residential address, issue date, and issuing authority. 

After the application is approved, traders can log in and fund their accounts  

Overall, ACY Securities’ account-opening process is fully digital and hassle-free and accounts are generally ready for trading once all documentation has been approved.

ACY Securities Accounts

ACY Securities offers three live accounts, which is average compared to other brokers, and its accounts are suitable for beginners and more experienced traders.   

ACY offers three live market execution accounts with higher minimum deposits linked to tighter spreads and better trading conditions. The Standard Account has trading costs included in its variable spreads, while the ProZero and Bespoke accounts offer raw spreads in exchange for low commissions.

ACY Securities’ Standard Account has a minimum deposit requirement of 50 USD, making it accessible to beginner traders. We define beginner traders as inexperienced traders who have never traded before or have been trading for less than a year. Beginners often do not want to risk trading large sums of money, and will generally not be able to trade full-time during the workweek. 

In general, experienced traders tend to prefer accounts with higher minimum deposits and tighter spreads.  ACY Securities offers the ProZero Account with a minimum deposit of 200 USD, spreads starting at 0 pips (EUR/USD), and a commission of only 6 USD per lot traded, making it appealing to more experienced traders. Experienced traders may also be interested in the Bespoke Account with even lower trading costs, including spreads of 0 pips (EUR/USD) and a commission of only 5 USD (round turn) per lot traded, but a minimum deposit requirement of 10,000 USD.  

Trading is offered on multiple assets, including Forex, Share CFDs, Commodities, Precious Metals, Indices, Cryptocurrencies, and ETFs. All account types are available on both the MT4 and MT5 platforms.  This information is slightly confusing on the website – but after having conferred with customer service, it should be noted that there are no differences in trading conditions when choosing between MT4 and MT5. 

All three live accounts feature maximum leverage of up to 500:1 and a minimum order size of 0.01 lots.  ACY Securities also allows all trading strategies, including hedging, scalping, and automated trading, and Islamic swap-free options are available, but only on the Standard Account. See below for account details:

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Standard Account

The minimum initial deposit in the Standard Account is 50 USD.  Spreads are variable, starting at 1.00 pips on the EUR/USD, which is slightly wider than similar-sized ECN/DMA brokers, but no commissions are charged. 

ProZero Account

A minimum deposit of 200 USDis required to open a ProZero Account.  Spreads start at 0.0 pips on the EUR/USD, and average at 0.1 pips, and a low commission of 6 USD (round turn) per lot is charged.  These trading conditions are highly competitive for the industry.   

On the ProZero Account, commissions are charged differently depending on the base currency of your account. See the table below for the commissions in a selection of common base currencies:

MT4 and MT5 ProZero Account Commission Structure:

Bespoke Account

A minimum deposit of 10,000 USD is required on this account, spreads start at 0.0 pips on the EUR/USD, and traders are charged a very low commission of 5 USD (round turn) per lot. Overall, the trading costs on this account are among the lowest in the industry.

Demo Accounts

ACY Securities’ demo accounts come loaded with up to 100,000 USD in virtual funds.  Demos mimic the conditions on all of the above-mentioned accounts on both the MT4 and MT5 platforms.  Demos last for six months and can be renewed on request.

Overall, ACY Securities offers three live accounts which are suitable for beginners and more experienced traders.  Its commission-based accounts also have some of the lowest trading costs in the industry. 

Deposits and Withdrawals

ACY Securities offers a wide range of payment methods, and while deposits are free, some withdrawal methods incur a cost.

In line with Anti-Money Laundering policies, ACY Securities operates a “return to source policy,” meaning that withdrawals can only be returned to the original funding source.   Deposits and withdrawals can be made via Bank Transfer, Visa/Mastercard, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, PerfectMoney, Trustly, dragonpay, PayTrust, and UnionPay. However, Filipino traders can only make use of credit cards/debit cards, bank transfer, Skrill, Neteller, and Perfect Money.  Deposits are free and instant.  Withdrawal requests are processed on the same day if a request is received before 14:00 AEST. Requests received after 14:00 AEST might not be processed until the next business day.

See below for details:

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Overall, ACY Securities offers a wide range of funding methods with fast processing times and fees only charged on some withdrawal methods.  

Base Currencies

ACY Securities offers a larger number of base currencies compared to most other brokers.

ACY Securities offers accounts denominated in USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, NZD, CAD, and JPY but not INR, which means that Filipino traders will have to pay conversion fees on all deposits and withdrawals.  Conversion fees can make trading expensive, and affect profitability.

For traders that trade in large volumes (more than 10 lots a month), it is better to open an account denominated in USD at a digital currency bank, especially for trading on assets such as the EUR/USD. This is because when trading a USD quoted currency pair with another currency account, there will be a small conversion fee for every trade made.

Overall, ACY Securities offers more trading account currencies than most other large international brokers, but it doesn’t offer accounts denominated in INR. 

Trading Platforms

ACY Securities’ trading platform support is average compared to other similar brokers.  

ACY Securities supports the MetaTrader Suite of platforms.  In addition to the desktop applications, ACY Securities also offers MT4 and MT5 WebTrader, which are the browser-based version of the platforms, along with mobile and tablet versions of both iterations. Traders can use Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems for MT4 and MT5. 

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Broker

Platform Choice

Copy Trading

Platforms

ACY Securities

4.5/ 5

Yes

MT4

MT5

FXCC

4/ 5

No

MT4

InstaForex

4/ 5

Yes

MT4

MT5

Metatrader 4

While not the most beginner-friendly software, MT4 has been the industry-standard platform for trading Forex and CFDs since 2005.  One of the features that make MT4 popular is its auto-trading feature that enables algorithmic trading and strategy backtesting with expert advisors (trading robots).

Features of the MT4 include:

• 40 technical indicators and 24 graphic objects available in nine timeframes for each financial instrument.
• Live price streaming on live accounts and demo accounts 128-bits encryption for secure trading
• Algorithmic trading, which allows any trading strategy to be formalised and implemented as an Expert Advisor. 
• Customisable alerts
• Access to MetaTrader market and MQL4 community

There are also many advantages of signing up with an MT4 broker:

• The MT4 community is vast, as is the amount of text and video resources to support new and experienced traders alike.
• The MT4 EA (Expert Advisor) community of developers is very active, so renting or buying algorithmic trading software is very easy.
• MT4 has very low system requirements, and MT4 trading can run off any device.

However, while MT4 has great customizability, the platform feels outdated, and some of the features may be hard to find.  In addition, only the basic orders are available, including Market, Limit, Stop, and Trailing Stop.

Metatrader 5

MT4’s successor, MT5, is a state-of-the-art, multi-functional platform that boasts advanced technical tools and copy-trading. MetaTrader 5 is designed to accommodate advanced trading across a wider selection of asset classes than its predecessor, MT4. Feature-rich, it boasts advanced tools and offers superior execution.  

 Features include:

• 38+ preinstalled technical indicators
• 44 analytical charting tools
• 3 chart types
• 21 timeframes
• Additional pending order types
• Detachable charts
• Trailing stop
• Depth of Market
• An integrated Economic Calendar.

Overall, although ACY Securities only offers the Metatrader suite of platforms, which are not as beginner-friendly as the proprietary platforms offered at other brokers, MT4 and MT5 are considered some of the best third-party platforms in the industry.  

Trading Tools

ACY Securities offers virtually no trading tools.  This is a significant drawback, as most other brokers offer a number of technical and fundamental analysis tools to help traders make better trading decisions.  

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Broker

Economic Calendar

Autochartist

Trading Central

Trading View

Free VPS

ACY Securities

Yes

No

No

No

No

FXCC

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

InstaForex

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

ACY Financial Instruments

ACY Securities has an impressive range of CFDs, more than is typically offered at other brokers.  

ACY Securities’ range of financial instruments for CFD trading includes Forex, share CFDs, commodities, ETFs, indices, and cryptocurrencies:

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• Forex: ACY Securities has over 63 currency pairs available for trading, a broader range than most other brokers.  Major currencies include EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, AUD/USD, and NZD/USD. Currency crosses are pairs where the US dollar is not the counter-currency. Some of the most popular and highly traded cross pairs include EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, EUR/CHF, and GBP/JPY.

• Share CFDs: ACY securities offers 1600 share CFDs, a broader range than other large international brokers.  The selection available includes some of the major US, UK, and European Exchanges.  Share trading is only offered on the MT5 platform.     

• Indices: There are 17 indices available for trading at ACY Securities, which is around the average available at other similar brokers. The most popular indices are those that combine the shares of some of the largest and globally acknowledged companies.   

• Commodities: ACY securities offers trading on 15 commodities, which is more than most other brokers. These include metals such as silver, gold, aluminium, and copper, and energies such as oil.  

• ETFs: ACY Securities offers trading on 27 ETFs, an average range compared to other similar brokers.  These include the most popular ETF CFDs such as the SPDR S&P500 ETF Trust, VanEck Vectors Gold Miners, and the Proshares UltraPro Dow 30 to name a few.  

• Cryptocurrencies: Cryptocurrency CFDs are available on all of ACY Securities’ accounts. At the time of writing, there are 9 crypto/USD crosses available, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple among others. The spreads vary significantly compared to other traditional Fiat currencies.  It is not unusual for spreads to be as wide as 75 pips on Bitcoin, but cryptocurrency spreads vary greatly, so if you trade these currencies, watch your margins.  

Overall, ACY Securities’ CFD offering is broader than other similar brokers, and it includes specialty CFDs such as ETFs and cryptocurrencies.  

ACY Securities for Beginners

ACY Securities offers a wide selection of educational materials for beginner traders, but its market analysis materials are limited compared to other large international brokers.  What is available is well-structured and of high quality. Customer support is also available 24/5 to help with any technical or account issues.  Note that none of the materials are translated into Malay.  

Educational Material

ACY Securities’ education section is comprehensive but not as good as the best brokers in this space.  

ACY’s educational materials comprise e-books, trading videos, a video trading course, and various articles about how to trade Forex.  See below for more details:

• E-books: The in-house team of analysts has created a free trading e-book covering the essential aspects of trading, including ‘The Importance of Choosing the Right Company,’ ‘Forex Industry,’ ‘Fundamental Analysis,’ and ‘Technical Analysis,’ amongst others.
• Trading Courses: In this free trading series, ACY Securities’ Chief Market Analyst guides traders on how to apply chart patterns, how to trade according to the latest market events, and using fundamentals to make better trading decisions. 
• Seminars and Webinars: These are run every Tuesday and Thursday evenings in various languages by ACY Securities in-house market analysts.  Webinars are free of charge to all visitors to the site, but require registration. 
• Articles: Various educational articles are published on a daily basis and cover topics such as leverage, how to use the Metatrader platforms, the basics of Forex trading, and more. 

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Broker

Beginner Course

Advanced Course

Well Structured Education

Education Quality

Webinars

ACY Securities

Yes

No

Yes

Medium

Yes

FXCC

Yes

No

Yes

Medium

No

InstaForex

No

No

No

Medium

No

Market Analysis Materials

ACY Securtities’ market analysis is limited compared to other similar brokers.  

The market analysis section is updated on a daily basis but essentially comprises two sections – Market News and Market Analysis.  Both sections cover articles written by ACY Securities’ in-house team of market analysts.  The material is in-depth and well-structured. 

Customer Service

ACY Securities is a service-oriented broker with multilingual support available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week through multiple channels. On opening an account, traders receive personalised support, helping them with account setup and any other technical difficulties. For the purposes of this review, we found the customer support responsive, polite, and resourceful. 

Evaluation Method

We value transparency and openness in the way we review the partners. To bring transparency to the forefront, we have published our review process that includes a detailed breakdown of the ACY Securities offering. Central to that process is the evaluation of reliability, the platform offering, and the trading conditions offered to clients, which are summarised in this review. Each one of these is graded, and an overall score is calculated and assigned.

Risk Statement

Trading Forex is risky, and each broker is required to detail how risky the trading of Forex CFDs is to clients. ACY Securities would like you to know that: Foreign exchange and derivatives trading carry a high level of risk. Before you decide to trade foreign exchange, we encourage you to consider your investment objectives, your risk tolerance, and trading experience. It is possible to lose more than your initial investment, so do not invest money you cannot afford to lose. ACY Securities Pty Ltd ( AFSL: 403863) and ACY Capital Australia Limited (VFSC: 012868) provides general advice that does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. 

Overview

A trustworthy ECN/DMA broker, ACY Securities offers trading on over 700 instruments, including over 60 Forex pairs.  Trading conditions are excellent, with spreads down to 0.0 pips on two of its accounts, in exchange for low commissions.  ACY also offers trading on the most popular platforms – MT4 and MT5, and it allows all trading strategies alongside a decent repository of educational materials.  One drawback is the lack of market analysis materials and trading tools available, forcing traders to seek trading ideas elsewhere.   Overall, ACY Securities is a dependable, if unexciting CFD broker. 

Editorial Team

 

Chris Cammack
Head of Content

Chris joined the company in 2019 after ten years experience in research, editorial and design for political and financial publications. His background has given him a deep knowledge of international financial markets and the geopolitics that affects them. Chris has a keen eye for editing and a voracious appetite for financial and political current affairs. He ensures that our content across all sites meets the standards of quality and transparency that our readers expect.

 

Alison Heyerdahl
Senior Financial Writer

Alison joined the team as a writer in 2021. She is the Senior Editor for FXScouts.  She has a medical degree with a focus on physiotherapy and a bachelor’s in psychology. However, her interest in forex trading and her love for writing led her to switch careers. She has a passion for Forex trading and over a decade of editorial experience researching Forex and the financial services industry, producing high-quality content. She hosts a weekly podcast, “Let’s Talk Forex,” alongside her colleague, Chris, and has produced over 100 Forex educational videos for the FXScouts YouTube channel. She also writes weekly technical analyses and has tested and reviewed over 100 Forex brokers.

 

Ida Hermansen
Financial Writer

Ida joined our team as a financial writer in 2023. She has a degree in Digital Marketing and a background in content writing and SEO. In addition to her marketing and writing skills, Ida also has an interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks. Her interest in crypto trading led to a wider fascination with Forex technical analysis and price movement. She continues to develop her skills and knowledge in Forex trading and keeps a close eye on which Forex brokers offer the best trading environments for new traders.