Review
CORE SPREADS, founded in 2014, is a spread-betting and CFD broker headquartered and regulated in the United Kingdom. They state that they operate a STP (straight through processing) back office model. They offer the opportunity to trade by way of spread-betting, which can be very advantageous for U.K. taxpayers as profits generated by spread-betting are not subject to capital gains tax (CGT) in the U.K. at the time of writing this review. A wide range of assets for trading are offered, in Forex currency pairs, 11 major stock indices, and a few commodities (gold, silver, and crude oil), plus a selection of major British, European, and American individual stocks/shares, with the latter three categories wrapped as CFDs (Contracts for Difference).
Accounts
Although there are two account types to choose from with CORE SPREADS, the trading conditions are the practically the same for both. The difference lies in whether a spread-betting account using the custom CoreTrader platform is opened, or a regular account using the MetaTrader 4 platform. CORE SPREADS pride themselves on a no gimmicks approach when it comes to their core offering. Technically, there is no minimum deposit, but clients will need to deposit at least $10 to cover the minimum margin required for the smallest trade. Spreads are competitive, with CORE SPREADS claiming a fixed spread-betting offering of 0.7 pips on the benchmark EUR/USD currency pair, which rises to a floating spread plus commission of approximately 1.2 pips when this is traded as a CFD.
A maximum leverage of 200 to 1 may be used on the brokers proprietary platform, and the minimum trade size for Forex is 1 microlot (0.01 full lots). Leverage of 100 to 1 is available on the MT4 platform.
A demo account is available, as is typical with nearly all spot Forex and CFD brokers.
A wide range of over 30 Forex currency pairs, 11 major stock indices, 4 commodities (gold, silver, and both WTI and Brent crude oil), plus a selection of major British, European, and American individual stocks/shares are offered for trading.
Features
The most notable features of Core Spreads worth emphasizing is that they offer decent liquidity, competitive spreads, and few restrictions on trading, on a wide range of markets including individual stocks and shares. Although scalping is not allowed, automated trading is possible when using the MetaTrader 4 trading platform.
Core Spreads offers a choice between two trading platforms: the well-known and popular MetaTrader 4 platform, or their custom platform CoreTrader. Expert Advisors can be run through the MetaTrader 4 platform. CoreTrader can be used as a spread betting platform and has garnered some positive reviews from users.
Core Spreads pride themselves on keeping things simple, so you wont find many of the bells and whistles that are often touted within the industry. Instead, they emphasize their goals modestly as offering a great service in three key areas: cost of trading, platform technology, and dedicated customer service. We find this a refreshing approach, and consider any broker that has gone through the very onerous process of securing approval from U.K. regulators to be worth taking seriously.
Education
Core Spreads has no educational offering. We see nothing wrong with this, as a massive range of high-quality trading education can be found for free on the internet, so what is the point in putting together a half-baked educational offering as too many brokers do？ It is also worth questioning whether most brokers, generating a majority of their income from their clients losing trades, are in a strong position to be “educating” their clients.
Bonuses and Promotions
The only bonuses and promotions on offer at the time of writing are a welcome bonus giving a 50% spread rebate at the end of the first month after opening an account on the CoreTrader platform, and a loyalty bonus linked to volume offering a maximum 25% of spreads and commission paid as a rebate. Interestingly, the loyalty bonus is linked to twitter and Facebook activity, as well as trading volume.
Deposits/Withdrawals
Depositing funds into a Core Spreads account is an easy and secure process. Funding can be done using credit cards, debit cards, or wire transfer. Withdrawals can be made using the same available mechanisms.
Core Spreads do not impose any minimums requirements on deposits or withdrawals, but the channels themselves may do so.
Customer Support
Customer support is based in London, offering 24-hour support while markets are open from Monday morning in Australia to Friday evening in New York. Support staff are fluent in other languages besides English.
Conclusion
Core Spreads has a well-rounded and professional offering for traders looking to trade using spread betting through a wide range of assets, particularly Forex currency pairs and global equity indices, but notably also a selection of individual major stocks and shares. Fans of no-nonsense trading looking for a confident and no-frills broker may find their offer especially interesting, and quite possibly attractive enough to open an account.
Most importantly of all, the spreads and commissions offered seem to be truly competitive.
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