A CFD account with FxPro

The same register checks, applied to the broker

Before opening an account with any broker, apply the same checks this site teaches for investment schemes. Ask which legal entity will be your counterparty, which regulator supervises it, and where that regulator's own register can be searched. FxPro's client agreement names the entity that will serve you, based on your country of residence. The FxPro group operates through several regulated entities: one authorised by the FCA in the United Kingdom, one by CySEC in Cyprus, and one by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas. Which entity serves a client depends on the country of residence and is named in the client agreement. You can check that entity on the regulator's website. Do not rely on a name alone; look up the entity yourself.

A price contract, not a scheme that pays referrers

A CFD is an agreement between you and the broker to exchange the difference in the price of an asset between the time the contract is opened and the time it is closed. No asset is delivered. Nothing is registered in your name. You are not buying shares or metals; you are taking a position on a price. This is a different kind of promise from a scheme that pays referrers. A CFD broker earns from spreads, commissions or financing, not from recruiting new members. The contract is in writing, and the broker is a regulated entity. Still, a CFD is leveraged and carries a high risk of losing the money deposited. The risk warning is part of the account opening.

What to read in the client agreement and the risk warning

The client agreement names the entity, sets out the terms of the CFD, and states the leverage limits that apply to you. Retail leverage limits differ by regulating entity. Negative balance protection applies to all clients, and client money is held separately from the company's own funds. Read these clauses before you deposit. The risk warning tells you that CFDs are leveraged and that you can lose more than you deposit. It is not a formality; it is the broker's statement of the risk you are taking. Platforms offered are MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, a browser platform and a mobile app. A practice account exists. Use it to see how the platform works before you risk money.

An FxPro account is held with a firm outside Nigeria: the group is regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom and by CySEC in Cyprus, and holds no licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria. The safeguards that come with a Nigerian licence therefore do not cover it. Foreign currency sent abroad to trade is governed by the Central Bank of Nigeria's foreign exchange rules. Nothing here is investment advice.