Darwinex is a Forex broker founded in 2012 in the UK and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Brokerage company Darwinex positions itself as a social trading broker, offering retail traders the tools to learn the strategies of other traders and copy their signals.
It has a solid client base from over 80 countries, registering 3,000+ clients. The broker is best for traders looking for long-term investment as they gradually build their portfolios.
Company details
Darwinex is a UK-based broker that is gaining popularity in the field of social trading. Launched in September 2014, thanks to the TradeSlide rebranding, Darwinex provides its FX trading and investing in traders’ accounts.
The broker’s essential task was to solve the primary relationship between a trader and an investor. Traders who allow copying of their trades do not want the investor to view them online.
Since an unscrupulous investor, having paid little money for this, can duplicate this copying into an account with many funds or resell transactions. The investor, in turn, wants to be confident in the efficiency of the trader and not “buy a pig in a poke.”
The problem is solved by a Darwin account, a hybrid between a PAMM account and copying transactions. And all this is under the regulation of the FCA (Great Britain) with a compensation fund of up to £50,000. License number FRN 586466.
Regulation
The Darwinex brokerage brand was first registered in 2014 and is owned by Tradeslide Trading Tech Limited, a UK company regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) licensed 586466. The broker has offices in London and Madrid.
It also holds a membership position with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) which protects an investor’s funds, covering up to £85,000 if the company dissolves.
The broker complies with MiFID guidelines, ensuring that the broker is secure and transparent in their clients’ services.
Available markets
With this broker, you can trade stocks, CFDs, forex, 60+ futures, and DARWIN assets.
- Forex
Trade 40+ major and minor currency pairs with the tightest spreads.
- Indices
There are ten popular Indices on Darwinex, including the SPX500 and UK100.
- Commodities
Darwinex offers four commodities in its market; gold, silver, natural gas, and US crude oil. These four are paired with the USD.
- US stock
These include all the NYSE and NASDAQ registered stocks.
- DARWIN assets
Traders can build a DARWINs portfolio using over 2,000 alpha strategies on the platform.
Account overview
The broker offers three account types:
- Standard account
- Stock & futures account
- Professional account
It also has a free demo account, a simulation of the live account, for experimental trading. You can opt to open a demo account first and use it to know the broker and test the platforms.
Standard account
This type can either be an individual, a joint, or a corporate. Most broker’s clients hold this account because of its reasonably low minimum deposit amount compared to other account types. Corporate accounts are opened and run by companies, and their minimum deposit is $10,000.
Standard accounts have the following features:
- Platforms for trading – MT4, MT5, FXI API
- Market products available – 300+ assets
- Min. spread – 0 pips
- Max. leverage – 200:1
- Min. deposit – $500
- Social-copy trading – yes
- Base currencies – EUR, GBP, USD
Stock & futures accounts
The broker offers special accounts for traders focused on trading stocks and futures.
These accounts include:
- A Classic account
- Stocks Darwin account
- Futures Darwin account
The min. deposit for any stock and futures account is $10,000, which is a good amount for talented traders to make huge profits in a short period. These accounts are supported on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Ninja Trader, Zorro IB Bridge, MultiCharts, and API trading platforms.
Traders experience state-of-the-art charting, real-time news streaming, and live quoting, with 100+ order types and Algos.
Professional account
Professional clients enjoy advantages like having a stalwart account manager and generous monthly rebates based on the traded volume.
To become a professional client on Darwinex, a client must meet a prescribed criterion.
- The participant has traded with a considerable amount in a related market, at an average of 10/quarter over four previously traded quarters.
- Trader’s financial portfolio (cash, savings accounts, shares, options, investments) must exceed £500,000.
- The participant must work in an economic sector, holding a professional position that requires you to make investment decisions for over a year.
How to open a Darwinex account?
Despite the very confusing site, it is quite easy to become a client of this broker. You can register in the company as a trader or as an investor.
A simplified registration form is offered. You only need to specify your name, email, password, and the way of working on the trading platform — independent trading or investing in other entrepreneurs. Here we immediately note that the broker allows you to open several trading and investment accounts at once.
Step 1. Choose the account type.
Step 2. If you want to open a joint account, you’ll select ‘individual’ on the account type and enter all the account holders’ details in the name sections.
Step 3. Require you to fill in two questionnaires with your data and financial status.
Step 4. Upload the documents and wait for the approval.
Step 5. If you want to open a stock and futures account, you’ll be required to complete a W8-BEN form and fund your account with $10,000.Or a similar amount in your account’s base current.
Deposit and withdrawals
Deposit
- Bank transfer
Deposit a minimum of $500, with no limit to a maximum amount. No commissions are charged, and the amount reflects in your Darwinex account in 1-3 business days.
- Bank cards (VISA and MasterCard)
You can only deposit up to $20,000, and the payment reflects in your trading account immediately.
- Trustly and Union Pay
The maximum deposit is $10,000, and the payment is processed within a day. Trustly and Union Pay are only available to select countries.
- E-wallet Skrill
The maximum deposit is $5,000, but a 0.5% commission fee applies to the deposit amount. Payment is processed immediately.
Withdrawal
Withdrawals are processed through the same deposit methods:
- Bank transfer
- Bank cards
- Trustly
- Union Pay
- E-wallet Skrill
All withdrawal requests are processed in 1-3 working days. A conversion fee may apply where your bank’s currency is different from your Darwinex account’s base currency.
Trading fees
Trading fees can be categorized as spread, execution commission, roll-over, and re-quotes.
- Spread
Darwinex charges very tight spreads, as low as 0 pips on a financial asset.
- Executive commission
FX & commodities incur a gross commission of 0.005% of the amount traded in the account’s base currency. Other financial assets like indices and stocks incur a charge that varies depending on the asset sold.
- Roll-over fees
It’s charged on all positions running overnight. Darwinex does not offer swap-free accounts for Muslims.
- Re-quotes
This happens when the market is volatile and the broker cannot execute the order at the quoted price. In this case, a broker requires the price to be the nearest price available. Darwinex does not offer re-quotes.
Non-trading fees
- Deposit fees – 0.5% commission fee on e-wallets
- Withdrawal fees – 1% on the withdrawn amount
- Inactivity fee – none
Platform and features
Darwinex offers multiple trading platforms for cost-effective trading, which include:
- Web Trader
- MT4
- MT5
- Trader WorkStation
- FIX
- Ninja Trader
- MultiCharts
- Zorro IB Bridge
- IB Gateway
The Web Trader is Darwinex’s proprietary trading platform. It’s accessible on the web, with an intuitive and user-friendly interface. It’s an ideal platform for first-timers on the site and traders who want to test out trading robots and new strategies.
The powerful MetaTrader 4&5 has superior features, including indicators, market depth with over 20-time frames, pending orders, and customizability for top-grade functionality and profitable trading. The platforms are accessible in web, desktop, and mobile versions across supporting devices.
The TWS, FIX API, NinjaTrader, MultiCharts, Zorro IB Bridge, and IB Gateway are available in the Stocks and Futures accounts.
They have features like:
- A customizable workspace
- One-click order execution
- Market scanning tools
- Portfolio analysis
- Live quoting
- State-of-the-art charting
Features
Darwinex has several unique features, which help traders meet their trading goals. They include:
- Hall of fame
It showcases the highest-earning traders through the DARWIN assets. The earnings are in terms of performance fees.
- Darwinex ideas
It provides traders with ideas and product news, especially on DARWIN assets.
- Community forum
It’s a social trading section where investors can interact and share ideas. It’s a major feature as Darwinex is a social trading platform.
- Copy-trading
Successful traders lead the way and allow amateur traders to copy from them and make profits from the highly volatile markets.
- Economic calendar
The detailed economic calendar keeps track of all the events happening globally, affecting the market conditions. Thus, keeping track of the Economic calendar lets you know when it’s best to trade and amass huge profits.
Pros and cons of Darwinex
| Pros | Cons |
| Reliable FCA regulator Advanced social trading Tight spreads for major currency pairs | Large minimum deposit $500 |
