IIAwards - Review of London Capital Group
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As part of the recently announced IIAwards, in which we celebrate innovations in the fintech and crypto industry, today we will talk about London Capital Group and will analyze different categories.

General information

London Capital Group (LCG) is a UK based broker that was founded in 1996. It offers traders the opportunity to trade using favorable trading terms and state-of-the-art technology. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). LCG provides access to a broad selection of CFDs and spread betting instruments across several asset classes. Like many forex brokers, LCG does not accept US traders.

Commissions & fees - (3/5)

LCG does not have a minimum deposit requirement for customers wishing to open a standard account, but the minimum trading deposit for the clients of ECN accounts amounts to 10,000 USD. Most of the trading costs at LCG are charged through a competitive spread. On the classic account type, average spreads on the EUR/USD are 1.45 pips. Traders needing a more competitive spread can establish an ECN account with a $10K deposit and have their all-in cost drop to 0.65 pips (0.2 average spread + 0.45 pip commission) after factoring the round turn commission of $4.5 per standard lot using the LCGTrader platform. Aside from an inactivity fee of 15 GBP per month for each live account with no trading activity in 180 days (6 months), and 2% on credit card deposits, LCG does not charge any other fees.

Markets & products - (2/5)

As one of the major UK-based forex brokers, LCG offers a wide range of asset classes and a seamless trading experience. LCG is one of the first choices for forex trading, however, it also holds a well-rounded portfolio of more than 7,000+ instruments across 9 asset classes. It enables investing in cryptocurrencies through CFDs.

Advanced trading platform - (5/5)

LCG's entire online offering includes LCG Trader, which is a web-based, white-labeled version of the cTrader platform; MT4 (downloadable) platform and a functional mobile application. LCG's web-based (cTrader white label) platform is the company's de facto flagship offering and has comparatively greater functionality than does its MT4 white label. Most of LCG's special features are integrated into the firm's trading platforms so LCG clients must decide which platform they prefer, LCG Trader or MT4. LCG Trader is a great entry-level platform with better charts by default, but MT4 is more flexible. Back testing and automated trading are available within MT4, but there aren't many other supplemental tools for traders seeking something unique. Advanced traders are likely to use LCG's MT4 platform, which provides more flexible trading technology through "Expert Advisors."

Innovative account opening - (3/5)

LCG differentiates between two account types - standard and electronic communications network (ECN). The ECN account also provides more favorable margin rates in terms of maximum trade sizes than the Classic account, where the tiered margin levels are more restricted. Meanwhile, the round-turn commission on MT4 is more than double at 10 USD per 100K, and not as competitive as the rate on LCGTrader when it comes to the ECN account. Account opening follows a standard procedure - the client is required to register through the website and afterwards has to provide documents verifying their identity and place of residence. While the first stage normally does not require more than 10 minutes, the verification procedure may take several days.

Customer service - (4/5)

It is possible to contact LCG via telephone, chat and email, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–7 p.m. UK time. The average connection time on the phone is less than 1 minute, which is one of the most competitive results in the industry. What is more - live chat can be launched from within the LCG Trader platform and the existing customers are automatically connected to the "dealing desk" via the phone. The staff are known to be well informed and professional. Moreover, the FAQs are quite informative and well organized.

Education - (5/5)

LCG's educational offering includes a range of tools intended for novice traders seeking to become more fluent with the platform. It includes high-quality how-to videos for the LCG Trader platform and articles providing additional information on forex and CFD markets. This information will give new investors some helpful background information. In addition, LCG offers weekly "Market Analysis" webinars scheduled every Monday. They allow the audience to create a more substantial understanding of the events of the week.

Mobile trading / Apps - (5/5)

LCG offers both MT4 and cTrader for mobile trading both for Android and iOS devices. The MetaTrader mobile app can be used with either Classic or ECN accounts. The LCGTrader (cTrader) mobile app is highly versatile and brings a consistent theme with the web version thanks to its responsive design. In other words, nearly all the features available in the web version of the platform are in the mobile app, including syncing watch lists. Charting analysis, one-tap trading and high-speed execution are all possible and particularly user-friendly for those who take more time to build a watchlist. It is also possible to expand charts into full-screen mode to take advantage of maximum available screen space.

UI / UX - (4/5)

LCG Trader has a simple and easy-to-use interface where traders can set up watchlists, analyze charts, place and monitor trades, access an instrument's depth of market and keep abreast of upcoming events with the market calendar. The technical analysis charts can be expanded to full screen and come with more than 70 technical indicators that you can apply over many different time frames, from tick charts to monthly charts.

LCG also offers a MetaTrader 4 (MT4) option for traders looking for a familiar downloadable platform. LCG Trader includes access to thousands of financial instruments which can be traded from the chart or through the new order window. Traders can also set price-based alerts on instruments they are following. LCG Trader will notify them via e-mail or text message once the price objective has been reached. It is possible to change the language of the website by pulling down the menu at the top right and selecting your preferred reading language out of the 14 available.

Digital security - (3/5)

LCG uses negative balance protection, which implies that traders will not lose more money than deposited. The firm is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and the CySEC in Cyprus. Clients out of the UK / EU zone fall under the license of Securities Commission of The Bahamas. Guaranteed stop losses can be used on some instruments depending on market conditions but they are subject to an additional cost as long as they are kept open.

Novelties

The company's latest rebranding effort was made in 2016 with the launch of LCG Trader - a web-based, white-labeled version of the cTrader platform. It comes equipped with a tool for analyzing one's trading activity. Using a variety of filters, traders can analyze their performance on a deeper level beyond the basic metrics, which can be especially useful for beginners.

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