Overview

OspreyFX is an electronic communications networks (ECN) forex broker that offers online trading of Forex, Cryptos, CFD’s, Stocks and Commodities with full straight through processing (STP) execution. The brokerage requires a minimum deposit requirement of just $25 and has flexible leverage of up to 1:500 available. For those who may not be aware, an Osprey is a large fish-eating bird of prey with long, narrow wings and a white underside and crown, found throughout the world. This seems to be the inspiration behind the brokers name, as evident from the bird incorporated within their logo.

Trading Conditions

As an ECN broker, OspreyFX aggregates liquidity from more than 50 different global banks, hedge funds and dark pool liquidity exchanges. Executable Streaming Prices (ESP) are dispatched from these types of liquidity providers directly to the brokers platform, where clients are then free to trade in an environment which is devoid of a dealing desk, rate manipulation, or re-quotes. This enables them to offer competitive spreads and trade execution speeds with minimal slippage. I always prefer to use a non-dealing desk broker as this helps to ensure there will not be any conflict between my trades and the broker.

The OspreyFX ECN account was built for day traders, scalpers and expert advisors, whatever your trading style, they’ve got you covered. Traders of all experience levels and investment size can trade on institutional grade liquidity. I found them to have tight spreads and reliable execution speeds at favorable prices. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them for my automated trading strategies and scalping systems.

Regulation

Founded in 2019, OspreyFX is an offshore broker located in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The broker is not regulated by any government or non-government body. This means that there will be limited protection in place in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.

Funds

OspreyFX state that client funds are held in an independent bank account to ensure that the brokers own funds and assets are segregated from client funds. At any time, they can quickly and accurately distinguish the funds which are being held for one client from those being held for another, as well as being able to distinguish from their own funds. Client funds are kept off-balance and should not be used to pay creditors in the event that OspreyFX was about to stop operating.

OspreyFX regularly pinpoints, analyses, monitors and regulates each type of risk connected with its day-to-day operations. This includes evaluating on an ongoing basis the performance of the policies and procedures which they implement. This enables the brokerage to be able to cover all of their financial and capital requirements.

Countries

OspreyFX brokerage services are not intended for use or directed at any jurisdiction where use would be contrary to local law or regulation. In conjunction with UK financial guidelines and policy, the broker does not offer Contract for Difference (CFDs) or CFD-like trading options to UK customers.

Tools

The OspreyFX trading platforms have plenty of tools for conducting market analysis, placing and managing traders with relative ease. The broker also has some additional trading tools to assist with daily trading activities. Although that being said, the MetaTrader platforms are likely to have plenty of tools to meet the needs of most retail traders. You can also find plenty of additional trading tools to add to the MetaTrader platforms from the market place within the platform. This includes indicators, scripts, trading signals and trading robots.

Forex Squad

Forex Squad is a platform that aims to teach you how to trade. You will be able to see tutorial videos with hints and tips on how to trade. The best thing about this is it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or advanced trader, the broker has tutorials which will cater for all levels.

You are able to sign up for Forex Squad by navigating to the “Education” Tab from within your OspreyFX account and signing up from there. After signing up from within your account, you will receive an email with your login details immediately.

Economic Calendar

You can follow the latest news and economic releases on the world’s largest markets with the OspreyFX economic calendar. An economic calendar is used by investors to monitor market-moving events, such as economic indicators and monetary policy decisions. Market-moving events, which are typically announced or released in a report, can have a high probability of impacting the financial markets.

Forex Calculators

The broker has a decent selection of trading calculators which can help you to prepare for trades and calculate costs, all using real time values. This makes it quick and easy to perform complex calculations.

Margin Calculator

The required minimum amount in your account, which is necessary to open the desired position

Swaps Calculator

Financing costs play a special role in forex. Check the amounts that are due or will be credited to your account for positions that are held overnight.

Pip/Point Value

It is always good to know how much the current profit or loss will change when the price of the underlying asset moves by one pip.

Currency Converter

The currency converter allows you to calculate live currency and foreign exchange rates.

Education

There is a section of the brokers website where they cover the latest Forex and Crypto news as well as any breaking financial stories that can have an impact on your trading. It must be said that there is a good range of frequently updated articles covering a variety of topics in detail.

Market News

There is a section dedicated to the latest market news. The broker covers a range of markets in good detail, with articles that can be useful to help inspire trade ideas and keep you up to date with the latest market happenings.

Trading Guides

The broker has a trading academy with some useful additional learning materials. It can be beneficial when a broker provides a variety of educational resources such as tutorial videos, trading guides, eBooks, webinars, seminars, etc. This could help support more informed trading from their clientele.

There are forex trading guides geared towards beginner, intermediate and advanced traders alike. You can learn more about trading online, trading strategies, risk management, trader’s psychology and much more. All of the courses are completely free for you to work through at your own leisure.

Markets

With OspreyFX you can trade CFDs in Forex, Commodities, Metals, Cryptocurrency and Stocks. You will find major currency pairs, stocks of major companies and popular cryptos.

• 55 Forex currency pairs including major, minor & exotic currencies
• 9 Indices
• 9 Commodities
• 37 Stocks
• 31 Cryptos

CFD Trading

CFD trading is a method that enables individuals to trade and invest in an asset by engaging in a contract between themselves and a broker, instead of acquiring the asset directly. The trader and the broker agree between themselves to replicate market conditions and settle the difference amongst themselves when the position closes. CFDs (short for “Contract for Difference”) offers traders and investors the opportunity to profit from price movements in the financial markets without owning the underlying instrument.

Since CFD trading does not involve the actual asset and operates independent of the market, it allows for greater flexibility than traditional trading — for example, access to foreign markets, leveraged trading, fractional shares, and short selling.

Trading with leverage means using capital borrowed from a broker when opening a position. Sometimes traders may wish to apply leverage in order to gain more exposure with minimal equity as part of their investment strategy. Leverage is applied in multiples of the capital invested by the trader, for example 5x, 10x, or higher, and the broker lends this sum of money to the trader at the fixed ratio. Leverage may be applied to both buy (long) and short (sell) positions. It is important to note that any losses will be multiplied as well as profits.

Accounts

OspreyFX provides ECN/STP trading accounts with up to 1:500 leverage, 0.01 minimum lot size and 1000 maximum lot size. The main differences between the accounts are the minimum deposit requirement, spreads and commission fees. There are also demo accounts to practice trading online and Islamic accounts for Muslim traders.

The account type that you opt for may depend on your investment size and trading strategy. Those who require the tightest possible spreads may prefer the PRO account whereas those who use more long-term trading strategies may prefer the account with the lower commission fees. OspreyFX does not impose any restrictions on trading strategies. I think it is great that they welcome scalping, news trading, hedging and expert advisors for automated trading.

OspreyFX accounts require two-factor authentication. This helps to protect your account and data from unauthorized access attempts.

Standard Account

• Spreads from 0.8 pips
• Minimum $50 deposit
• $3.50 commission fee ($7 round turn)
• 55 FX currency pairs

PRO Account

• Spreads from 0.4 pips
• Minimum $500 deposit
• $3.50 commission fee ($8 round turn)
• 55 FX currency pairs

VAR Account

• Spreads from 1.2 pips
• Minimum $250 deposit
• $0 commission fee
• 55 FX currency pairs

Mini Account

• Spreads from 1.0 pips
• Minimum $25 deposit
• $1 commission fee ($2 round turn)
• 29 FX currency pairs

Demo Account

You can open a demo account with the broker to practice your trading strategies and test out the broker’s services. Demo accounts can have an unlimited amount of virtual funds and you can choose any leverage up to 1:500. It should be noted that trading conditions can differ between demo and real accounts due to factors such as spreads, slippage and liquidity.

Islamic Account

OspreyFX welcomes Muslim traders by offering an Islamic trading account that does not have any swap fees and complies with Sharia law. You can simply apply to the broker for this account type and provide them with evidence of your religious beliefs.

Account Signup

OspreyFX has a short online application form which you can complete to open a trading account. You will need to provide some personal information and verify your identity. This can be with a passport or driver’s license. You can also verify your address with a bank statement or utility bill. Once a member of the OspreyFX accounts team has confirmed your account, you will be able to commence trading online. The broker aims to approve your account during the same business day.

Support

If you have any questions for the OspreyFX support team, there is an online form that you can complete and they will aim to get back to you within 24 hours. They have an automated online chat bot that aims to guide you in the right direction and provide some pre-prepared answers to commonly asked questions. Once you have gone through the live chat automated process, they can put you directly in touch with a human at the broker to talk to. This is especially important if there was an emergency and you needed to speak with someone right away. I found them to be very helpful, answering my questions in a quick and satisfactory manner.

Funding

OspreyFX support account funding via bank transfer, credit/debit card, Bitcoin, VLoad and UPay. They charge $25 banking fees for wire transfers with a minimum requirement of $100. Wire transfers can take up to 6 days but the broker aims to have them processed on their end within 1 business day. OspreyFX works closely with its payment service providers to ensure fast and flawless deposits and withdrawals. Please note that some methods may only be available to specific countries and not all are available for both deposit and withdrawal. Some fees may be charged when using certain payment methods. The withdrawal time can vary depending on the payment provider and method. Some payment systems may have transaction limits, restrictions, and requirements which are indicated on their respective websites.

You may need to verify your account to remove limits on particular methods in some countries. The broker strictly strictly does not accept third-party payments. All funds deposited into your trading account must be under the same name as your trading account.

Accounts can be opened in a good choice of currencies which includes USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, BTC. The different currency options are beneficial as currency conversion fees do not apply when using an account in your own currency.

Conclusion

Overall, I believe that OspreyFX is a good brokerage service that includes a range of trading instruments across multiple asset classes, the user-friendly MetaTrader platforms and flexible account types. They do have a nice selection of cryptocurrencies to trade and also facilitate Bitcoin funding. They provide frequently updated market news and insights which is very useful. The broker also has some helpful educational materials and additional trading tools to support traders. The e-wallet payment options are flexible whilst the trading conditions are very competitive when compared with other online brokers that we have reviewed.